Movies

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself

It doesn’t happen to me very often that I look at DVD box and cannot find the title of the movie. This time it was exactly like this though. I had this box in my hands and it said Antonio Banderas and “And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself“. Without quotes, of course. That was confusing. Hehe.

The film is good. I haven’t heard anything about it, I haven’t seen the trailers, I haven’t seen any posters or promotional materials. I haven’t even heard anyone mentioning it in any programs about movies. Strange.

I won’t go into describe it. It is original and atmospheric. And Banderas is good and unusual in it. I suggest you get it and watch it on a slow day.

I’ll rate is as a firm 7 out of 10. Very close to 8 though.

Media Masters DVD Club

Few days ago I’ve mentioned that a new DVD club was about to open right next door to my home. Well, they did indeed opened there doors and I finally managed to get in (not that it is too crowded, we just had different operating hours).

These guys are still finishing bits and pieces here and there, but they surely have a number of DVDs for rent. I didn’t have a lot of time to scan through, but I’ve noticed that they have both new (the ones which just passed in the cinema or are about to be shown) and old (the ones everyone have seen multiple times) films, shelves are sorted by genre (comedy, horror, action, animation, etc). They are still putting barcodes on the boxes. They do rent and sell DVDs. I haven’t checked the selling prices, but renting is 1.50 CYP per DVD, which you can have for three days, except for the new hot movies, which are 24 hours only. This is pretty much a standard set of conditions around here.

I’ve talked with these guys a bit and they said that their website is almost finished (by the end of the week it should be up) and that it will have an online catalog together with booking and ordering facilities. This beats the crap out of the DVD club I use now for renting films, so I will surely be changing it.

Another nice touch is that DVD boxes that you take home all have contact information with full address, phone, fax, and mobile (!) numbers, and an email address. It also has a URL written on it. By the way, their website will be at http://www.mmscy.com. Currently, there is a flash intro which says that the site is coming soon. But stay tuned.

V boy idut odni “stariki”

I get a really strange feeling when watching very old films on digital media. “V boy idut odni “stariki”” was filmed in 1973. It is a movie about war pilots in the Second World War. It is definitely eye pitching and funny in inapropriate places for the modern viewer, but is defenitely worth the time, if you haven’t seen it. By the measures of Russian cinematography of 1970s it is a very strong movie with lots of sounds effects, excellent acting and musical accomponiment.

I’ll give it a 7 out of 10. A rusty 7. A 7 from long time ago. But still a 7.

Intersection

“Intersection” with Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, and Lolita Davidovich (what a name!) was on TV just now. I watched it from start till end and.. didn’t understand a thing. I was trying really hard, but… hmm.

In the beginning, they make it clear that Richard is going to die in the car accident. So, you already know the ending. Nothing really matters much from this point on. But, anyway… Richard played a reach architect who cannot decide if he should go live and get married with his lover Lolita, or stay with his wife Sharon and daughter. He is deciding back and forth for the whole movie. Of course, that gets both of them pissed. But not really pissed. Rather mildly disappointed. Everything thinks a lot, cries a lot, and falls into memories a lot. And than he dies in the car accident. Now that’s a movie to remember…

I won’t even go into the acting part. I’ll just give it a 4 out of 10. This movie would have been so much better if it was based on a totally other story. Yup.

End of Days

“End of Days” was on TV now. I’ve seen this film before. I think it was a couple or so years ago when it just came out and hit the cinemas. It was always slightly underrated and underadvertised. I agree it is not as bloody as other Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, but it is still pretty good.

The story is a bit original for Arnold this time. The whole thing is based around religion, god and devil, and the church, and stuff like that. Arny plays a security guy from top notch security firm. But since his daughter and wife were killed (who would expect it otherwise?) few years ago, he experiences some phychological trauma that pushes him to kill himself and/or to drink a hell of a lot of alcohol. And eat trash. And you get the idea.

But of course he turns out to be a good guy with kind heard the size of my head and blah blah blah. There is plenty of shooting and killing during the film. Few phrases can be added to quotes databases. Effects are good. Soundtrack is good. And I don’t see everyone thinks it is such a bad movie.

I’ll rate it as a 6.5 out of 10.