Film
Film reviews, movie essays, and other posts focused on cinema.
- Letterboxd Film Diary, October 2018 ()
Film diary and review entries made on the movie social media website Letterboxd. For more reviews, follow Razzle Dazzle Cedar Rapids on Letterboxd. 10/2/2018 Demons 2, 1986 (Rating: 2/5) As much as I wanted to write off this sequel, it incorporated similarly great practical effects as the first, along with another solid soundtrack, and plenty […]
- Letterboxd Film Diary, September 2018 ()
Film diary and review entries made on the movie social media website Letterboxd. For more reviews, follow Razzle Dazzle Cedar Rapids on Letterboxd. 9/15/2018 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, 2001 (Rating: 1/5) My assumption was that this would be the last time I’d watch this movie – the first time was when it was […]
- “God Bless America” Review ()
Breathing in what he surely recognizes to be his final living moments, Frank (Joel Murray) is ushered to the setting of God Bless America’s final scene by the grizzled sounds of Ray Davies’ haunting “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” before slowly unveiling his last calculated act of vigilante justice. The film is ripe with cartoonish […]
- “Cowboys & Aliens” Review ()
Armed with a Megaman blaster and his rugged good looks, Cowboys & Aliens finds Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) leading a strike against an encroaching team of aliens that have settled on Earth to strip mine for gold (for some reason or another). Aside from this undeniably superior alien race being taken down by far lesser […]
- “Captain America: The First Avenger” Review ()
Captain America has long since been a landmark in pop culture, and surely Captain America: The First Avenger offers a wonderful cinematic exploration of the character’s history to fans who’ve been waiting to see the story told among the past decade’s roll-out of comic book movies. But for someone who isn’t well-versed in the comic’s […]
- Fresh Dubs: “A Prophet (Un prophète)” [2009] ()
Fresh Dubs is a series which focuses on an individual film’s use of pop music, or lack thereof, analyzing a sampling of songs from the film and offering suggestions for alternative tracks along the way. “A prison tale of French-Arab-Corsican teenager Malik (Tahar Rahim) dropped into the shark tank of the predatory prison culture, is […]
- “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” Review ()
Anvil: The Story of Anvil isn’t simply a documentary about a group of balding, gray-haired rockers. The story follows an aging Canadian metal band as they continue to struggle to find success, but the spirit of hope is one that trumps any of the cinematic plot twists. The film documents a story of two friends, […]
- NOFX “Backstage Passport” Review ()
Punk fans without a television, cable, and specifically the Fuse channel (who also haven’t heard of torrents) have reason to rejoice as Fat Wreck Chords has now released the entire series of NOFX’s Backstage Passport on DVD. For those unfamiliar with the show, it’s a documentary capturing the band’s world tour—the catch being that the […]
- Brandon VanVliet (of Restraining Hollywood) Interview ()
Last November I met a man by the name of Brandon VanVliet and he presented me with a DVD of a movie that he had made called People Talk. At the time I didn’t know who he was, but I later came to find out that he plays the role of President, Co-Founder, Producer and […]
- “What an Unbelievably Huge Hack!” Michael Showalter Talks Bill Murray, ‘The Life Aquatic’ and Why He’ll Never Work with Wes Anderson ()
A guest post by comedian, actor, writer, cat fancier and blue collar beat poet Michael Showalter. Hey Chris, I saw your blog about how me and Wes are similar. Strange as it is I’ve never seen Life Aquatic but now I think I might have to Netflix it. Of course I’m a huge admirer of […]
- On Why Michael Showalter’s “Erotica” is Pretty Much The Musical Equivalent to Wes Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”…Only Better ()
After literally dozens of times through Michael Showalter’s hot new single “Erotica” it began to dawn on me that the song’s theme, details and setting could pretty much pass for a Wes Anderson movie. Then reality smacked me boldly in the face and shouted “it is a Wes Anderson movie, retard!” And as it turns […]
- “The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971” DVD Review ()
A deeply toned narrator introduces footage of Woodstock and Altamont, peace and war, comparing and contrasting various struggles and glories that the world, culture and art were facing through the late ’60s to the early ’70s; but who was there as a voice of reason? Johnny Cash. A tad on the dramatic? Absolutely. But no […]
- Les Claypool “Fancy” DVD Review ()
It would be nice to think that Les Claypool is becoming more accessible, both personality-wise and musically, but fortunate for his fans he’s not. If anything the Fancy Band is a step in a completely opposite direction from a possible stab for mainstream attention that some may feel he should attempt; again, let’s be thankful […]
- “Screaming Masterpiece” DVD Review ()
There are two defining pieces of history that have helped me understand what Icelanders are indeed capable of. The first was my introduction to Björk roughly a decade ago, introducing me to a different classification of music and one that I still stubbornly associate with the country. The second, which at the time had a […]
- My Morning Jacket “Okonokos: The Concert” DVD Review ()
The DVD begins and the world is transformed, a first person experience as a man with a mission, on an evening like no other, a socialites dream somewhere in a mansion in the deep South. An estate lost in the backwoods, one which you arrive to as your horse drawn buggy calmly smoothes its speed […]
- Katt Williams “The Pimp Chronicles: Part 1″ DVD Review ()
Through his smoke riddled introduction Snoop Dogg accepts a new role, that of an advisor to young Katt Williams. Through a progressively nonsensical speech Snoop encourages Katt to live up to the greats that have come before him, following the lines of “telling it like it is and not like it was,” and reminds Williams […]
- Primus “Blame it on the Fish” DVD Review ()
Speaking from the year 2063, an elderly Les Claypool explains his life throughout the course of Blame it on the Fish. After detailing the origins of his name he recalls “I’m best known for playing with the band Primus. Primus was once a very popular group in sort of the underground cult scene – that’s […]
- The Vice Guide to Travel ()
There are multiple levels in which I am attracted to the Vice: Guide to Travel DVD, and each clip I’ve seen piles on the frustration of not personally being apart of something so dramatically inspiring. For when your job is tedious and offers you no formal outlet for thought, nor does it offer inspiration, you […]
- The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players “Off & On Broadway” DVD Review ()
Hi, this is Jason Trachtenburg, he’s the dad in the band. He sings, plays keyboard, plays guitar and writes the songs. Hi, this is Tina Pina Trachtenburg, she’s the mom in the band. She sings, projects the slides, and keeps the family glued together. Hi, this is Rachel Trachtenburg. She is the daughter and the […]
- David Bowie “Serious Moonlight” DVD Review ()
Initial hesitation to the teeth-grittingly-bad Davie Bowie of the early ‘80s that lived in my head shortly gave way to the real David Bowie of 1983 mere minutes into the footage. The Bowie I saw was powerful, sharp and even funky; I was witnessing the David Bowie who I never knew existed. There has always […]
- Matthew Perry: Murderer? ()
OK, here it is, my pal Jon and I are watchin’ Black Sheep and we were discussing the semantics surrounding Chris Farley’s Death. We came to the conclusion that Matthew Perry is inadvertently responsible for the death of one Mr. Christopher Crosby Farley. Here’s how it works: Chris Farley’s all out, 100%, best movies (Black […]
- Nardwuar The Human Serviette “Doot Doola Doot Doot…Doot Doo!” DVD Review ()
I first became in the know on who Nardwuar was like many Canadians, through his segments on Much Music. It was his absolutely distinct interviews with the celebrities, rock stars and even the average schmuck (but for the most part, celebrities and rock stars) with which Nardwuar carved a name for himself within the scene. […]