cigaretteburns
http://www.flixster.com/user/cigaretteburns
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| Movie: | My Own Private Idaho. Fox and His Friends. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. The Holy Mountain. Solyaris. Man Bites Dog. A Clockwork Orange. Apocalypse Now. Blue Velvet. The Crying Game. Happy Together. Boys Don't Cry. Labyrinth. There Will Be Blood. The Fountain. But I'm a Cheerleader. Stand by Me. |
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| Actor: | River Phoenix. Al Pacino. James Dean. Kyle MacLachlan. Javier Bardem. Gong Li. Nicole Kidman. Daniel Day-Lewis. Emile Hirsch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Malcolm McDowell. William Hurt. Leslie Cheung. Cillian Murphy. |
| Director: |
Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Stanley Kubrick. David Cronenberg. David Lynch. Gus Van Sant. Pedro Almodóvar. Wong Kar-wai. Federico Fellini. Andrei Tarkovsky. George A. Romero. Neil Jordan. Stephen Frears. Park Chan-wook. Takashi Miike. Danny Boyle. John Waters. Martin Scorsese. Alejandro Jodorowsky. Todd Haynes. Quentin Tarantino. Zhang Yimou. Lindsay Anderson. M. Night Shyamalan. James Whale. Antonia Bird. |
| Quote: |
"When I'm being fucked, I like to get kissed a lot." - Al Pacino, (Dog Day Afternoon) "It isn't easy to accept that suffering can also be beautiful... it's difficult. It's something you can only understand if you dig deeply into yourself." - Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
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I could potentially be a middle-aged man with a robust stomach and a greasy comb-over, just trying to run a kiddie porn ring in peace, whilst rating movies on Flixster.
You'd never know. I assure you I am not though.  Film is my one true passion in life. I could not exist without it. I enjoy a wide variety of films, but I do like them to have some originality. I'm usually not too picky. I try my hardest to give every film a chance, but there are certain elements to a film that completely turn me off. I do not particularly care for - movies smothered in CGI, most modern animation films, westerns, romantic comedies, spoofs, horror remakes, sports-themed bullshit, mind-numbing Hollywood excrement. I'm also not the biggest film noir fan. My taste in film is mostly - indie, horror, campy, cult, arthouse, international, cheesy action, GLBT-themed, Canadian, musicals, controversial, mobster, criterion, sci-fi, quirky comedies, new German cinema, anything and everything by R.W. Fassbinder! I also have a biiiiig soft spot for prison dramas! ♥ I haven't had any time to write reviews lately. My apologies. * If you are not on this site for the purpose of film, please don't bother me. Thanks. |
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Steph's Recent Reviews
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Rate Movies
The Incredible Hulk
PG-13
A phenomenal cast of B-actors! I'm pretty ashamed to say that I kind of enjoyed it. Edward Norton still seems to be cruisin' on his downward spiral though. It's a little upsetting. I'm beginning to think American History X and Fight Club were merely flukes.
Burn After Reading
R
For some reason I'm not as, "OH MY GOD! I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!" as everyone else. And I don't know why.
Raising Jeffrey Dahmer
Unrated
I know this is going to be shite, but it's about my Jeffy, so unfortunately I will have to see it. Sigh.
Steph's Favorite Movies
View All
(419) | Create a MovieBoard
1.
My Own Private Idaho
R
This will always be my favourite film! River Phoenix was one of the most sincere actors. This is clearly his greatest performance. It is Gus Van Sant's masterpiece.
5.
There Will Be Blood
R
"That was one goddamn helluva show." Truer words were never spoken. There Will Be Blood is a fucking MASTERPIECE!!! I was left utterly speechless. I never wanted it to end! This is by far the finest film I have seen in years! Daniel Day-Lewis's performance is stunning! Absolutely flawless! I think Plainview is my favourite character of his yet! He is a selfish, people-hating, oil-obsessed asshole, and I love him! At times, he was even hilarious! That was one thing I did not expect from this film - humour. It was introduced at the perfect moments, during the most intense scenes, and it really helped to balance the film. Everybody is already aware that Daniel Day-Lewis gives us the performance of his career, but Paul Dano is so brilliant as well! The chemistry between Daniel Day-Lewis (Plainview), and Paul Dano (Eli), is pure magic! These characters are at completely different ends of the spectrum, and they're constantly at each other's throats. Plainview is an intense, heartless sonofabitch, whereas, Eli is usually quite calm, unless he's preaching, that is. I loved watching his sermons!! Extraordinary acting aside, there were so many other aspects of this film that made it the masterpiece that it is. The screenplay is haunting, the cinematography is bloody gorgeous, and the score is captivating as hell! I must say, I'm rather surprised that Jonny Greenwood's spellbinding score wasn't even nominated at the Oscars this year. It was so amazing! The film wouldn't have been quite as powerful without it. I was also shocked to learn that Paul Dano has not been nominated either. The boy has mad talent! Even with his first film L.I.E., you could see that he had some serious potential! I really hope he gets a starring role again very soon. I'm a little sick of seeing him in a "supporting actor" light. He is capable of so much more. Well, I went into this film with the highest expectations any film lover can possibly have for a film, and I was still completely blown away! I was anticipating a story primarily based on the oil business, but what I ended up with was an intimate and truly chilling character study, smack-dab in the middle of a divine period piece. I could re-watch this film over and over again for thousands of years and never find anything negative to say about it! So, Mr. Anderson, "I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"
Steph's Movie Scrapbook
Steph's Talk
View All (3032)
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I recommend you see...
The Remains of the Day
by Dimitrisposted 37 minutes ago -
I recommend you see...
a brilliant,serial one night stand(day at this instance),2 amazing acting performances,especially Beye,Fonteyne letting dialogue speak for the whole movie progress and a subsequent chain reaction where emotions increase the temperature.a romance movie out of the ordinary because it won't let conventional methods come to the surface.
posted 49 minutes ago -
I recommend you see...
Blind Beast (Môjû)
by DimitrisAn achievement of sizzling moments,irrational behavior and savoring...for real the flesh and blood of two human carnivores.The transparent symbolism is obvious.Man will never survive without a guide be it an obnoxious yet incredibly smart art model or the Oedipal complex and the ones who see will unwillingly shout their despair in the form of sexual madness.
posted 55 minutes ago -
I recommend you see...
Night and Fog (Nuit et brouillard)
by DerekA sobering and sad glimpse of the belligerence and utter savagery that man is capable of...the haunting footage you get to see here you won't likely find anywhere else and will no doubt be permanently etched in my mind.
Hey, you should see this.
posted 4 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Le Sang des bêtes (Blood of the Beasts)
by DerekA brief yet fascinating exploration of the art of the butcher that's not for the squeamish but certainly gives some insightful perspective and a cold reminder of just how that wonderful meat doesn't actually grow on trees but rather takes some grim often brutal work to finally end up all nice and neat on our plates and in our bellies.
Hey, check this out if you can stomach it!
posted 5 hours ago -
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noir is a variant genre.there are greats from there too.i agree with the Hollywood horseshit.i detest money making movies where people forget time after time.and heck,ur favorites are great :)
p.s.:my mom is Canadian.posted 8 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
by DerekThe dirty charm of the Apatow style of humor really sets this film apart from the slew of other soulless romantic comedies out there.
Hey, this one might surprise you!
posted 23 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
The Entity
by DerekBarbara Hershey is wonderful in this effectively chilling supernatural thriller (supposedly based on a true story)...the sensational audio and visual effects (from Stan Winston) will leave you thoroughly rattled...once seen this film is not easy to forget.
Hey, you should see this.
posted 23 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
by KellyThe story is about a 3 star (for horror), but the production effects are so great that I HAD to give this four stars.
This is a FUN creature feature with some wicked awesome monsters and an interesting protagonist who is not annoyingly cocky, but instead empathetically emotional. This is a fun get smashed Friday night movie for gore freaks, and it would scare the crap out of a kid or lightweight. I imagine if I saw this before I developed my scare immunities, I wouldn't sleep comfortably for a few days - that's how great the makeup is.
I'm a huge proponent of practical effects, which is probably why I like this movie so much. The first two acts are mostly exposition, and then the concluding twenty-five minutes is all monster fighting. During the fight, Jack does some foolish things like discard his weapons constantly, then when the next monster attacks him, has to struggle to find another makeshift weapon (and this gag is pulled at least three times). I thought compared to earlier outbursts, the actor didn't showcase Jack's rage when it came to fighting the monsters, and it's not just because the monsters dwarf his aggression with their growls. I think the actor was trying to inject some fear into Jack, but it just came off as Jack wasn't in his uncontrollable anger mode.
I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel and hope they don't lapse into using loads of CGI, as the practical makeup/fx was the meat of the movie. I like how bits of the creatures' anatomy mimics the aesthetic of plumbing and pipes, which is Jack's porfession (in particular, their blood looks like dirty pipe sludge).
Also worth mentioning is Robert Englund's performance. He does a great eccentric professor. Once his character is affected by the monster heart, his body language is just astounding as if I was watching a person actually possessed.This goes out to my horror horde (sorry to my serious cinema crowd to pollute your board with this silliness). I predict that CreepFreak will love this movie and soon be sending out another rec for it.
posted 1 day ago -
I recommend you see...
Dead Mary
by DeanThis is quite a good horror film that does borrow a lot from other films like Bloody Mary, Cabin Fever and a few others. It's a little slow to start and it won't please gore fans, but it was much better than I expected it to be.
Hey, you should really see this!
More of a thriller but worth checking out when it's on TV.posted 1 day ago -
I recommend you see...
Compulsion
by StacieThis movie was kind of like a train wreck... a perverted train wreck with unicorns.
I really didn't know who to root for because everyone had the potential to, (and ultimately displayed), both a dark side and something slightly resembling a moral core. I think that's why I'm pretty sure that I loved this movie. There is definitely something dirty and wrong about it, and that's the draw. After you see what the characters do to, and for, each other - there are really no surprises. So, when you are left there blinking at a love/rape/stabbing scene you have no choice but to dig it completely and move on.
Sometimes when I refuse to sleep at night I am rewarded for my stubbornness in the form of a film that is a love story on heavy heavy medication, or, I am just a total perv with sleep deprivation. Either way this movie made my night.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Righteous Kill
by NelsonWell, we have 2 great actors like Pacino and De Niro in a picture called righteous kill that almost had the job done of killing me :(
A ridiculous good cop/bad cop motion picture!!Hey, you should really not see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Battle in Seattle
by NelsonFirst of all an impressive job by Townsend! Good choise of actors, interesting story with a great screenplay.
A fascinating picture ;)Hey, you should really see this!
posted 2 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Kush
by MasaioStarts off as a really good movie, I mean looking at all that smoke made me wonder why I ever quit. However, the movie changes and steals the plot of Alpha Dog in fact I'm wondering if it is not based on the same story. Still O,K. movie to rent, if your due your freebie.
For all you potheads, my gift to you is some Kush. Now this stuff goes for about $6500 a pound. Nothing like that dirt and skunk weed I was pushing back in the 90's. Smoke up!!! Just kidding ya'll know this shit is illegal and I am definately not a kid anymore. LOL.
posted 3 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Cure
by BrianYou know, when Heath Ledger died everyone made a huge deal (deservedly) out of it. But there wasn't much said about Brad Renfro's death.
I think he was an excellent actor, who, unfortunately, was poorly utilized because of his drug/substance abuse problem.
Thast being said, this is a good film.
Yes, it's a kiddie movie to an extent, but a good one, with a good a worthwhile message that is not sugarcoated. It's dealt with appropriately, and there is no unrealistic happy ending.
The three main actors give exceedingly believeable performances in this heartwarming flick that got the tears rolling. Sciorra is very likeable as well, although almost unrecognizable from the roles she gets nowadays (think her role on The Sopranos).
If you haven;t seen this, try to catch it.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 3 days ago -
I recommend you see...
The Midnight Meat Train
by CreepI was loving this movie in the beginning. Everything, from the great acting to the dark, dreaded atmosphere, grabbed a sudden hold of me. It wasn't even the gore that excited me really. The gore(the blood actually) looked too animated and stylized, and it did't much impress me. It's not that CGI gore is lame to me, it's just that the feel of The Midnight Meat Train, at least to me, was quite realistic. I give all credit to the acting for making me feel that way, which is a good thing. Perhaps the use of more latex or more actual blood syrup would have had a bigger affect on me. What I'm saying is, the use of more realism in the kills would have shocked me more. All in all, the gore was pretty cool, just not the main highlight for me in this particular film. And also, the thing about The Midnight Meat Train being "insanely gory", I have to disagree on that one. I can't see why people are saying this is so frigging gory. It's not really that much of a bloodbath at all. Good use of violence, but definitely not the continuous, non-stop gore that I've been reading about. Graphic, but not too graphic...still, not a big deal.
Back to the beginning, as I was saying about the great atmosphere and terrific acting, and also along with an intriguing storyline and some nifty camera work, The Midnight Meat Train definitely had my eyes glued. I loved Ryuhei Kitamura's Azumi, so I sort of had this feeling that I wouldn't be let down from the very beginning. Great style he uses in all his films.
Okay, here's the bad part...
About 30-40 minutes into the film everything fu*king fell apart. The acting became weak and the characters became emotionless. I know it sounds insane, but I kid you not. The acting went from great, to fu*king sleepy and boring. It's like the actors weren't even trying to act like the "original" characters anymore, and I don't know if it's because the script started getting bad or what, but the dialogue started getting silly and pretty corny. Almost like the director wasn't telling the actors exactly what to do anymore. I swear, it was freaking weird. Everything just became weak, at least in comparison to the whole fu*king beginning of the film. And like I said, the dialogue became pretty corny. The responses the characters were giving in scenes just became too typical, simple, and very predictable. Why?? The dialogue seemed so sharp and intelligent in the beginning. Did the director loose the last 60 pages of the script or something?(sarcasm of course) Even the two main characters who are dating, suddenly and completely loose their chemistry. They have this one scene when the main photographer has an emotional meltdown with his girlfriend about taking pictures of "happy" things. It was such a disgrace. What a ridiculous scene. At first I was convinced they truly loved each other, and then at that particular scene they "acted" like they loved each other. Yes people, there is a big difference. Bad performances come from actors who look like their trying so damn hard to act good. It becomes obvious to the point where it's laughable. In that scene in The Midnight Meat Train, they were trying soooooooooo hard to be torn by their issues and show their love for each other, that it became way too silly. Their acting skills went out the fu*king window and it looked more like they were auditioning for a bad high school soap opera. I only point out this one scene because that's the exact point, if I remember correctly, that the movie started to go down hill. I have no problem with bad acting in horror films, trust me, that's not the real issue. It's just that it didn't fit the film...at all. Everything in Midnight Meat Train was going at a certain pace, and great acting was part of that. And then BAMN!...you suddenly get bad acting in the middle(and continuing the whole time from there) and now you get a whole new movie. Just didn't fit well.
Things get worse...
Scenes started to drag out for a long time. My mind started drifting off to other things at those points. I was no longer focused on the movie. It was like the director finished the whole film, realized that it was too short, then went back for reshoots to fill in some more running time(I'm sure that didn't happen, but I swear I wouldn't be surprised if it did).
The camera work started to get a bit sloppy. And I'll say this again, only in comparison to the beginning of the film, is why I complaining about this. The filmmaking was top notch in the beginning, Slick and wise angles, shot choices and camera movements, as well as nice cinematography. Then later on, everything kind of became flat. It just didn't feel like the same movie. It all got a little dull and sloppy. Nothing fit well to me!(at least in my eyes) Did the DP take a bottle of sleeping pills? Maybe. Or maybe the whole damn crew just fell asleep on the set. Again, if you read my other reviews, sloppy movies don't turn me off DEPENDING on the film's overall tone. The Midnight Meat Train did not start like this, and I can pretty much bet they didn't want a half-ass horror film. Ryuhei Kitamura is known for using unique and amazing styles in his movies. I just don't know what happened! And this is actually a great way to explain the whole thing!...It felt like, and I seriously mean this, it felt like they simply ran out of money in the middle of filming. Like lots and lots of money. Everything after a certain point just felt cheap and rushed into.
Now...The worst thing about The Midnight Meat Train was the whole ending! The whole 15 minute crappy ending that capped it all off. Just when I thought it wouldn't get any worse. I always said Clive Barker came up with some truly amazing stories...I guess now I can also say some crappy ass endings. The film went from being a serious, intense horror thriller, to a movie about a heroic man jumping on trains like superman and fighting supernatural goblins in a tunnel. Yes, that might sound cool...but it just didn't fit well. The movie seemed to have gotten lost in it's own story, got tangled in a mess, and spun out of control. It was like a horror movie with manic disorders. Constantly up and down and all over the place. I seriously was so psyched about seeing this movie too. What a huge disappointment. My rating on The Midnight Meat Train is for the beginning part of the film only. I give it credit for having a good and interesting start.
Just my opinion. Many people do like this movie, and you might as well. You might want to give it a look.Wasn't really a fan of this at all. Very disappointed. But you still might want to give it a try.
posted 3 days ago -
Come see this movie with me...
Feast II: Sloppy Seconds
by CreepI'm not missing the point with Feast 2. I get it completely. John Gulager directed Feast 2 bad purposely, with plenty of outrageous raunchiness, loads of cheap gore, and silly little kid toilet humor. The fact is he failed at being stupid. There are many good horror films that don't take themselves seriously, most on a shoestring budget, but plenty of them still don't fail to entertain. The trick to a silly cheap B horror movie, in which nothing is taken seriously, is to actually be funny. If you're going to tell a joke, make sure it's a funny joke. Same with this, in terms of filmmaking, especially with cheap horror films. If the movie is meant to be a joke, than the movie should be fu*king funny. Nothing about Feast 2 was the least bit funny. It was like a 12 year old had written the script, and was the only one who was amused by his jokes. Now that I mentioned this, and also looking back on the film, that's exactly what it was like. The film seemed to be just one long "inside" joke, that was personal to the director, or maybe even some of his filming buddies. Too bad I wasn't hanging with them to laugh also, then maybe I would've enjoyed the film better. So I correct myself...I really didn't get the point of this film, because I just didn't get the joke.
It's to bad too, cause Feast 1 was a great little horror film. Feast 1 was also produced by some big names who are truly familiar with the horror genre, one being Wes Craven, who had nothing to do at all with Feast 2. It's starting to make me think how much pull Craven actually had the first time around. Think about it...Maybe him and a few other professionals stopped most from falling into John Gulager's hands, saving Feast 1 from becoming a complete disaster. Where are your buddies when you really need them, huh? Oh well...let's wait and see if his upcoming film Feast 3: The Happy Finish can tell a better joke. Perhaps John Gulager isn't such a hack after all...but highly doubt it.
On the plus side, the one good thing about this movie were the closing credits. Just skip to that part and save some time!
Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds...sloppy movie...sloppy everything.Not funny in the "good" sense...actually it's not funny in any sense. It's just pretty stupid in the stupid sense.
posted 3 days ago -
Come see this movie with me...
Mirrors
by CreepA huge disappointment, and a huge sloppy mess in filmmaking. Does not feel like a Alexandre Aja film at all. As I figured, it was more just like a stupid "Grudge" film with 2 lame gory scenes thrown into the mix. Nothing about this film was even remotely scary. Just tame, silly, and boring. Without the blood, Mirrors is just like another crappy PG-13 horror movie. Such a shame, this could have been something special. I pray that Alexandre Aja comes back hard with his next horror film. Up until now he was one of my new favorite horror directors. It just seemed like he was trying to prove something with this film. As if he was trying to show people that he can tackle any kind of formula in the horror department and make something good of it. Well he can't! Alexandre needs to stick to what he's good at...and that would be the sick shit. The vile and disgusting display of violence he always portrayed that put his name on top of the genre in first place. I'm not saying that a horror movie without the graphic blood is bad, and if done right Mirrors could have been great, but this element really just isn't Alexandre's cup of tea. He proved that once with Mirrors, I'm just hoping he doesn't prove that again.
I hope Alexandre Aja was just joking with this film...or maybe he was just sick with the flu.
posted 3 days ago -
I recommend you see...
Ne le Dis à Personne (Tell No One)
by TonyWhat the f_ck?!!My peeps,4 stars?!Sure,a complex,layered plot,but a totally lacklustre piece of filmmaking..zero style..and the lead guy looked like a retarded Dustin Hoffman.The hype was so big on this one,I got sucked in.Pray tell,people,what did I miss?!??
Save your hard-earned dollars and skip it!
posted 4 days ago
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