Chris - Cinema Crespodiso - Page 124 of 155

Netflix pick for 6/10/2014 – ‘The Big Boss’

“The Big Boss” is the first Bruce Lee movie from 1971 and by golly did Bruce Lee get off to a hot start with a pretty bad ass movie. Known here in America as “Fists of Fury,” this is the story of a simple Chinese farmer who moves to Thailand to work at an ice factory with a bunch of cousins, and when they accidentally uncover a drug smuggling operation within the ice factory, things get just a little hairy, ESPECIALLY when seduction and bribery proves as effective as it does.

Of course as this is a film from China circa 1971, very little money was put into making this movie, as that was just the way things were done at the time, so “The Big Boss” is a fairly cheap looking movie and really just competently made, just well enough to not screw up the main attraction, the star of the show, the reason this movie is worth watching whereas so many other hundreds of movies from the same era have slipped away from memory, the one and only Bruce Lee. Even here in his first movie we can see the magnetism and star power that made this guy so watchable, and then of course comes the kicks and quick moves and excellent athleticism and kung fu prowess displayed throughout the several fight scenes in this movie, and we get the full package of what made this guy so fascinating.Continue Reading …

#74 – Cinema Sexy-diso

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In episode 74, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn review Edge of Tomorrow, and Chris reviews Night Moves.

There is a Bruce Lee related Netflix Instant Pick of the Week, Chris catches Drew up on the ongoing saga of Marvel’s Ant-Man, plus a whole lot more news and other movie related stuff, as well as some more non-movie related shenanigans.

Enjoy!

Review: ‘Night Moves’

Not to be confused with the 1975 Gene Hackman-starring murder mystery of the same name, “Night Moves” is the story of three idealistic environmentalists who decide that they need to make a grand statement to the world by destroying a hydroelectric dam, hence really sticking it to The Man through an act of eco-terrorism. But of course the story is about much more than just that one act, or even the particular reasons for committing said act. Instead this is a story about the characters who perpetuate this act, and what it means to them in a more existential way, as well as what the act does to them in a physical, worldly consequences kind of manner.

Josh (Jesse Eisenberg) and Dena (Dakota Fanning) are young hippie-ish folks living in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon specifically, and they seem to really care about the environment and the world they live in. They even go to private screenings of what appear to be homemade documentaries about how the Mother Earth is being destroyed by humans, projected on a poorly hung white sheet and watched by a group of dirty stoners who react to the movie with cynicism and cries of “what are we expected to do?” But while Dena sits front row and seems to take in the message of the documentary, Josh hangs back and rolls his eyes at the lack of answers and obstinate nature of the crowd. He’s obviously over these get togethers and the rhetoric. He desires action.Continue Reading …

Dr. Drew’s Two Cents – Influential Individuals

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In this BONUS episode of DR. DREW’S TWO CENTS, Drewster Cogburn pontificates on the people who have influenced him one way or another throughout his life. Along with Chris Crespo, they talk about Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, Kurt Vonnegut, and many others!

Review: ‘Maleficent’

In Disney’s “Maleficent,” the world finally gets a chance to hear and see the story that no one wanted to know, the back story of the evil fairy witch lady from the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. You know that one, right? We all know it. The young princess gets cursed by some mean old bitch to fall into an eternal sleep by her 16th birthday through the pricking of her finger on a loom, and she can only be saved by a kiss of true love. And when we all heard this story when we were kids, that’s the thing that we wondered about, right? Why did she do this whole cursing thing? Who is this lady? What makes her tick? Well step right up for answers.

Netflix pick for 6/2/14 – ‘Beavis and Butt-Head Do America’

The record-setting, ground-breaking, ground-swelling, animated American MASTERPIECE is available for you to watch on the ole Instant Netflix thingy, and yes I am talking about “Beavis And Butt-Head Do America.”

Okay, maybe masterpiece is overdoing, but only slightly. Almost twenty years old, this movie is still quite funny and very entertaining, as Mike Judge does seem to possess the knack for making such incredibly stupidity so hilarious to watch. And it was kind of ballsy and ambitious to take a cartoon with very short segments and try to stretch that out to feature length, and gosh darn if they didn’t pull it off, creating a plot that gets crazier and crazier, while Beavis and Butt-Head themselves get dumber and dumber, and it is pretty great.Continue Reading …

#73 – Always Watch JAWS

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In episode 73, Chris Crespo and Drewster Cogburn review A Million Ways to Die in the West and Maleficent. There is a new Netflix Instant Pick of the Week, they go over some movie news, questions from show listeners and more!

Review: ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is a long title for a movie that should just be called “Seth MacFarlane Slapstick Romantic Comedy Western.” I guess that’s pretty long too. How about “New Timey Jokes in Old Timey West?” Nope that one stinks too. “Old West Gross Out?” “A Million Jokes Die in the West?” “Sophomore Slump?” Eh. I guess the original title is okay enough.

So in “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” writer/director Seth MacFarlane plays Albert, a sheep farmer living just outside of a small town called Old Stump, and the movie starts with him weaseling his way out of a gunfight and then losing his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) to the local successful businessman stereotype (Neil Patrick Harris), so he’s down in the dumps when he meets Anna (Charlize Theron), a foxy stranger who befriends Albert and tries to help him turn things around. Little does Albert know that Anna is actually the wife of a feared gunfighter (Liam Neeson) and that is going to be a problem for Albert.

And the crux of the movie is Albert’s lack of self confidence and abundance of self doubt and how he gradually tips those scales in the opposite direction, again thanks to the help of super foxy Anna. So even though this is a comedy with some gross out gags and over the top humor, there is a surprising amount of tears shed in this thing by different characters, as they tried to get actual emotions and character development in there between the jokes about uncontrollable diarrhea and sloppy prostitutes.Continue Reading …

Review: ‘Chef’

“Chef” is Jon Favreau’s answer to the corporate-backed, big budgeted, special effects laden behemoth blockbusters which seem to choke the multiplexes every summer, a couple of which he had his own hand in creating. But like many artists he longed to get back to his more humble roots in order to express more creative and artistic freedom and he was able to do so with this movie about a renowned chef who gets his own second chance at being happy with his work.

In “Chef,” Favreau plays Carl Casper, a chef who made a splash in his younger days with some daring food but who has hit a rut in his later years, having worked in the same restaurant making the same food for the same pain in the ass owner (Dustin Hoffman) for too many years, and when he tries to change the menu and do something a little different and daring, he gets push back from the owner and finds himself out the door.Continue Reading …

Netflix pick for 5/26/14 – ‘Fawlty Towers’

It is an historic moment for the Netflix Instant Pick of the Week, as we have our first non-movie pick, after all this time! Because while Netflix does indeed possess many cinematic titles for instant viewing, there is also a healthy amount of television shows to choose from, and this week’s pick is a personal favorite, one that I know I can go to for a quick, hearty laugh, and that is the 1970’s English situational comedy “Fawlty Towers.”

Starring Monty Python member John Cleese (and co-created by him and his wife at the time Connie Booth), “Fawlty Towers” is set in a seaside hotel owned and operated by Basil Fawlty (Cleese) and his attempts to improve the standing of his hotel gets undermined at every turn, and often by his own arrogance and rude, boorish behavior which is apparent to everyone except him.Continue Reading …