Sunday, December 11, 2011

Hibernation

Cinema Nerds will return in 2012. We wish you all the best and sincerely hope that you get those cha-cha heels you always wanted. They look so great on you!

♥Cinema Nerds

Double Bill: Gen X

Reality Bites and Empire Records

Friday, December 9, 2011

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)



Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants his family to have a "fun old fashion family Christmas!" That involves getting the perfect tree, putting lights on the house, going sledding, and spending time with the family...the WHOLE family. Naturally, everything goes horribly horribly wrong. And it's amazing.

I don't know a single person that doesn't like this movie. It's hilarious from start to finish, and the madness includes getting a tree WAY too big for the living room, sending an icicle through the yuppie neighbors' window, shooting down a hill on a sled at the speed of light, electrocuting a cat, and kidnapping their boss...oh and there's a squirrel too. There's just too much and it's too funny.

And a special nod to Mae Questel who plays Aunt Bethany...it's her last on-screen appearance and she is probably best known as the voice of Betty Boop!

If it's been a while since you've seen this, or if you never have, I very much recommend it. It'll put you in the holiday spirit in no time!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Mother (2009)


When a mentally handicapped young man (Bin Won) is arrested for the murder of a local high school girl, his mother (Hye-ja Kim) sets out to prove his innocence, no matter the cost.

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Director Bong Joon-ho can do no wrong. Four feature films, each one better than the last. He seems to have cracked the code and uncovered Alfred Hitchcock's secret recipe for suspense. And it turns out that the secret ingredient is humor. Though all of these films would likely be found in the "suspense" section of your local video store, there is definitely a healthy dollop of comedy in there. It makes for a much richer and full-flavored experience. Mother and his debut film Barking Dogs Never Bite are both on Netflix Instant, so I suggest you hop to it.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942)



The Man Who Came to Dinner is one of my favorite December movies and I look forward to watching it all year!

When cranky and acid-tongued critic Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) slips on the stairs of a businessman 's home after visiting for lunch, he uses his injury to take over the house, along with his secretary Maggie (Bette Davis) and all of their, uh, "interesting" friends. Convicted killers visit one day, penguins are delivered another day, and Mr. Whiteside's constant jabs and meddling drive the whole family (and his poor nurse) absolutely batty!

Meanwhile, Maggie falls for cutie-pie newspaper owner Bert Jefferson (Richard Travis). Sensing he is about to lose his beloved secretary, "Sherry" Whiteside is determined to break it up through any means necessary! The result? A pretty hilarious little movie.

This performance from Bette Davis is unlike her usual roles, but even in this downplayed role, she shines. Other performances worth mentioning are Monty Woolley as Sheridan Whiteside (it's SO funny and perfect, he verbally bitchslaps just about everybody), Ann Sheridan as the golddigging actress Lorraine Sheldon, and Jimmy Durante as Banjo (enough said!). All of the actors are lovably insane, and there are so many good one-liners.




Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Friday (1995)


Craig (Ice Cube) has been fired on his day off. Now he's got a lot of free time on his hands. Oh and it's Friday.

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Remember when movies could be small? Remember when movies didn't have to have giant fighting robots or exploding pirate ships? I know this question in and of itself seems like something out of science-fiction, but believe me this is the case. There was a time in the mid-90s when a movie with no special effects and absolutely no plot could go on to make EIGHT TIMES IT'S BUDGET! How could this be possible you ask? (a) It's funny (b) the characters are likable. Take note Hollywood.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Friday, December 2, 2011

Angels In America (2003)


The AIDS epidemic brings together a large swath of disparate characters in 1980s NYC.

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Though it was made for HBO, I still consider this to be a great work of cinema. It's not some simple filming of a stage production. It takes full advantage of all those wonderful things that only cinema can do, and uses them to transport us back to the fearful 1980s. A time when our own President refused to acknowledge a plague that was already laying waste to countless thousands. Not exactly the cheeriest of time periods right? Yet out of this horror, talented artists were able to produce a staggeringly hopeful work. I highly recommend you set aside the 6 hours and take this journey. You won't regret it.