jiffyxpop Reviews

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Just the title

[4/10 · 28 April 2022]

Reminded me of Torremolinos 73, a Spanish film about a penniless couple who make a porno that I remember enjoying because of the detailed 70s background. I was not as interested in this movie except for the brief appearance of the notorious Traci Lords.

The Evil Dead (1981)

Any movie that can still entertain you

[10/10 · 7 October 2021]

After 40 years is a VERY GOOD ONE! Especially for people who generally never want to watch the same movie twice or are easily bored. The timing in the preparation of horrifying the audience is delightful even though the acting is amateurish. The violence was, for the most part, cinematically tasteful (i.e. The tree-rape) and the grossest parts are visceral (get monster gunk in your mouth). This is about 100 times better than the Blair Witch Project, and it is no wonder Raimi and Campbell have become so famous with all their big budget projects since then. This is a wonderful movie to watch on a teenaged date together, or else when you're old and alone and have nothing much better to thrill you when you can't eat sugar, salt or drink alcohol anymore!

Trainwreck (2015)

Very funny

[10/10 · 3 February 2021]

Given that most positively reviewed movies suck these days and most negatively rated ones are actually good, I am happy to report this movie did not suck and actually was laugh out loud funny through many parts. Delivers.

Knives Out (2019)

Not Bad

[8/10 · 3 February 2021]

Given the never ending stream of movies out the past decade where the highly rated ones inevitably suck and the poorly rated ones are great, I am relieved to report this movie was pretty good.

The Master (2012)

This movie was REALLY BAD

[1/10 · 3 February 2021]

I tried to like it, I tried to watch it until the end, but it was really bad. Boring. Unbelievable. Unpleasant. Dumb. The movie must have a great PR team to vend crap like this as good.

The Boss (2016)

Pretty Funny

[10/10 · 3 February 2021]

I don't know what's happened since 2005, but all the highly rated movies I see are always bad, and movies like this, which are actually extremely funny, are rated poorly. Loved the characters, Peter Dinklage's acting was terrific, and the whole scenario was hilarious. Don't understand the negative ratings AT ALL.

The Favourite (2018)

"This movie is weird."

[7/10 · 5 October 2020]

I see this comment over and over in other reviews for this movie and have to agree. It's weird. I watched a funny trailer for it which led me to expect a historical period drama/comedy. In fact, this goes overboard and it's a piece of period CAMP. Things that jarred me: the gratuitious use of profanity (what is this, 17th century "Superbad"?), the corny dancing, the annoying single piano note key for background music, the incorporation of lesbian scenes ...wha..?? The insinuation that it had to be women manipulating each other through sex instead of honestly having non sexual affection and friendship with each other really made the movie disappointing. I mean, show some originality and make a modern play about these issues -don't besmirch history with your dirty mind. It's a self-indulgent la-la-land. The acting was good and the scenery and costumes were great. It wasn't terrible, but I'm glad I saw this movie for free instead of at the movie theater.

Rodents of Unusual Size (2017)

Thought-provoking documentary on Man vs Nutria

[10/10 · 2 September 2019]

The documentary covers the history of the importation of nutria to Louisiana as a competitor to muskrats in the once-popular fur trade, and of its ecological consequences to humans.

Insatiable (2018–2019)

A little uneven but definitely funny

[10/10 · 14 August 2018]

It's funny the way the Simpsons and South Park are funny -- they are unpc caricatures and anyone with a brain would realize it is not serious and not about "fat-shaming" for GODSAKES. Please do not ban this out of political correctness - I feel sorry enough that talented people like the guy who wrote Guardians of the Galaxy is out of a job.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Watching this over in 2018

[8/10 · 27 May 2018]

I saw this in the 1970s as a girl and like many people was entranced by Audrey Hepburn's performance. Now, in re-watching it and reading how Truman Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly Golightly, it dawns on me that someone like Anna Nicole Smith would've been perfect for the role, had she been an actress. I'm surprised this film has not been remade yet.

Inside Amy Schumer (2013–2022)

Amy Schumer is Awesome

[10/10 · 27 February 2018]

She's intelligent, insightful and hilarious, and the dull-witted types of people she offends are the people I can't stand anyway.

Snatched (2017)

Hilarious!

[10/10 · 17 February 2018]

I cannot imagine the kind of person who would find this to be a bad movie. It was a laugh-a-minute from start to finish. Wonderful entertainment.

The Mummy (2017)

I don't know why all critics hated this

[8/10 · 17 February 2018]

Or maybe just reading them made me expect the worst, so in fact I was happily surprised.

Bored to Death (2009–2011)

Loved this series

[10/10 · 6 February 2016]

I didn't watch pay TV for several years and only came across this this MONTH and haven't been as happy watching anything this witty and goofily entertaining since Psych ended. I didn't expect much at first from the title of the show but was happily surprised. I have an inordinate fondness for detection fiction and all things NYC having gone to Columbia University myself for a humanities degree and lived on the Lower East side back in the late 1980's, the show's settings make me miss NYC very much. Am very sad the show was canceled after such a brief run. Love all the characters and lines like "I'm a non-practicing vegan." Hope to see more from all of the talented team in creating this show and am interested in reading the work of Jonathan Ames now.

The Motel (2005)

American film from an Asian-American's perspective

[8/10 · 7 August 2014]

I found this movie at the public library. I never heard about it playing in theaters. I loved "You and Me and Everyone We Know" by Miranda July so I thought I'd give this one a try. It helped that it was about a Chinese-American family as I am Chinese American myself. There is a sensitivity in the handling of the characters' emotions that is different from 99% of movies out there, an authenticity and empathy that precise depicts the awkwardness and unspoken despair and silly sadness of everyday life. Some scenes were a little unconvincing and undeveloped or outlandish, but for the few brief moments of genuine emotion this movie captured, it was worth it. Naturally I give this a thumbs-up as I would like to see more movies from the Asian-American perspective. Usually Asian-Americans are the side characters..in this one the non-Asians are.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

Promethean waste of money

[2/10 · 3 June 2014]

I kept trying to suspend my disbelief to enjoy this movie - I was trying to believe that waking up after two years of space travel in stasis could leave the crew so grumpy, uninterested and nonchalant. That their dialogue would be so juvenile. That their personalities could be so mediocre and unimpressive. But then...there was that scene in the medi-pod. And Shaw running around afterwards w/ NARY A WORD TO ANYONE ABOUT IT. /facepalm. I can only guess none of the scriptwriters were women. This incredibly expensive film was ruined by some basic plot failures and I lost my ability to follow the characters with any sense of belief. This was a trip down absurdity lane and quickly devolved into something the makers of Beavis and Butthead could've made more profound and entertaining. I was so disappointed after the trailer build-ups for this movie. This should've been a great movie, and it just goes to show millions of dollars can't fix it when the script or editing or direction is bad.

John Carter (2012)

Surprisingly good movie

[10/10 · 2 June 2014]

When this came out in theaters I heard nothing but mediocre reviews. When I just watched it on video today I found it to have far more depth and character then I would've imagined coming from such a sci-fi movie. I never read the original Burroughs books, so I don't know if this came from the movie script of the original fiction. In any case, I would love to see a sequel. I thought it deserved a write up with a positive review.

The characters were well-rounded, the special effects weren't awful, there were very few scenes where I went...well, that's just absurd. It was a totally entertaining, imaginative escape/adventure/love story.

The Secret of the Grain (2007)

This COULD have been a very good movie

[5/10 · 11 June 2008]

It had atmosphere, closely-observed characters, some genuine feeling and warmth - but it was spoiled by lack of editing. Too many scenes went on too long, were too close-up and seemed gratuitous - the dockyard boss ranting at Slimane - the buttocks exposed in Majid's sex scene - the little girl being potty-trained - the endless belly dance and chasing of the motorbike. The real interest lay in the Slimane's journey to start a business - his family and friend's help - his interactions with his extended family - but just where it could have crescendoed and could of given us the super-satisfying happy ending we would love to see, especially when so much investment is made into the characters- well, you'll find out. It reminded me of seeing My Beautiful Launderette the first time - whereas that movie was a success, and I could not say the same for this one, especially as the ending does not create any satisfying or meaningful conclusion.

Grizzly Man (2005)

Eerie and paradoxical

[7/10 · 6 June 2005]

Frankly, I went hoping to hear first hand the grisly (no pun intended) footage of Treadwell and his girlfriend's death. It was frustrating and disappointing when Herzog took the higher moral ground of listening to it himself on earphones and making the audience watch his tearful reaction; then advising the woman, Treadwell's friend, who owned the tape, to destroy it.

I thought the documentary was good when it delved into Treadwell's upbringing and past connection with friends; and his ability to find entertainment in narrating himself among the bears. It was eerie, how many times Treadwell paradoxically contemplated the method of his own death. The fact is, Treadwell was something of an odd, irritating person...apparently bi-polar, with manic highs and sobbing, sentimental lows. In some scenes as he narrates the bears behind him he practically acts like Pee Wee Herman among the Grizzlies. It is no surprise when some of the documentary guests state their beliefs that Treadwell "got what he deserved" from risking death in his delusional bond with the bears.

I like everything, but the fact that Herzog would not allow the audience to hear the actual, final tape, or see photographs of the aftermath that are luridly described by a coroner but not shown.

The Dying Gaul (I) (2005)

Dying Plot

[5/10 · 22 May 2005]

I just saw this at the Seattle Film Festival, Peter Saarsgard was there to answer questions. The movie is extremely watchable for the first half of the way through, is built on a fascinating premise with interesting characters (a bisexual movie producer and his wife who reside in a Lifestyles of the Rich And Famous type beachside modern mansion, a young gay writer whose lover has died of AIDS), and builds to a pitch of extreme suspense. After that, however, the plot stumbles and the film's conclusion turns on a series of unbelievable events. I thought since the movie was based on a play, the plot would be clear, but it's almost as if the movie version was forced to cut out some important sequences, as there is never quite enough information about 1) how the woman obtains all her inside information on the writer, 2) how the writer's ex-wife was related to the characters and 3) most importantly, what happens to the characters at the end of the movie.

I went into the bathroom after the movie and joined a lineup of women who were also asking each, "What exactly happened there?" --- when it's not clear it's a sign of unclear movie-making.

Steamboy (2004)

Another Good Japanese Animation Film

[7/10 · 9 April 2005]

WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS BELOW - DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SOME CHARACTERS REVEALED

A great animated thrill-ride peopled with archetypes and insanely detailed, awe-inspiring machinery and backgrounds. Steamboy is repeatedly asked, to what is the best end of science? To make people happy? To make powerful weapons that will harm one another? (or conversely to keep them safe from their enemies)? Or to entertain them? The main characters are a wild man grandfather, whose runs about most of the movie as naked as a castaway, representing an innocent but wild and raging nature figure, and believes power should be used to make people happy through entertainment; a cyborg father, who has given up on nature and harnessed the fruits of science to produce weapons to be sold cynically to capitalist bankers and salesmen, and the boy, who must watch the two battle each other for dominance, even while various other international elements fight over their inventions. As usual, Japanese cartoon films pose more complex questions than American ones, nor do they provide the same type of easy good/bad, black/white resolutions Americans are so fond of. Instead, each character is allowed to describe their opinions, and the boy, like the audience, must observe, listen to all sides, and think hard before drawing conclusions as to where his own heart lies. Following the unquestioned policies of ones family or national alliances alone is unwise. If only all people could learn to think like this.

Trollywood (2004)

Excellent Movie

[10/10 · 16 June 2004]

I saw this at the Seattle Int'l Film Festival with the director in attendance. She was a slim blonde Englishwoman, a photographer and a friend of Nick Rhodes (of Duran Duran fame), who said that while in Los Angeles, it was the large amount of homeless people pushing "trollies" (shopping carts) that inspired her to make this documentary. She initially focused on how they obtained them and how they were used (i.e. as ways to cart their belongings, as ways to make a living recycling cans and bottles to support drug habits) and then she zooms in on several homeless who agreed to be filmed by her and let her into their lives. In the course of their movie you become moved by their plight, and in between the movie discusses statistics of homelessness, the percentage that are war veterans and mentally ill, the increasing lack of beds available to them in the city, and interviews activists with visions of how to help the homeless, former homeless people who describe how they have gotten out, and homeless who more or less feel doomed to remain as they are and why. In one scene she invites a homeless person she has gotten to know to attend a charity ball for the homeless at a luxury hotel - and amusingly, she has the camera record the shocked expressions of the tuxedoed valets as she asks them airily in her English accent to park her friend's shopping cart loaded with garbage bags of belongings in between the squads of limos arriving.

The movie is artistically shot, with plenty of great music from Lou Reed, John Cale, and Nick Rhodes, among others, which was donated as they are all socially conscious activists. Altogether an excellent movie about a depressing topic, delivered in much the way Mary Poppins delivers medicine with a spoonful of sugar. This movie reminds me of Born Into Brothels, also shown at the SIFF, which began with a female photographer who as she became more intimate with her subjects, took the opportunity to utilize the documentary form as a vehicle for enlightenment and social change.

The Pianist (2002)

See the Pianist - Especially Now

[10/10 · 3 June 2004]

A movie about the atrocities committed during WWII could not be more timely to watch than now, at a time when George Bush is comparing the "War on Terrorism" to WWII - odd since depending on what your politics are you might think that lately the US is acting more like the Nazis in this film than the rescuing Russians, with the common people of Afghanistan, Iraq and the US, like the Pianist, being caught in between as the inadvertent, non-politicized victims of the ideological/political war between the government of fascists and fundamentalists. Roman Polanski does a tremendous job of portraying the brutality and ugliness of war, and the beauty of human individuality when mercy, kindness, and love are demonstrated in the face of it. If all the political leaders with their agendas today were forced to sit in a room and watch this together, I wonder what they would say afterwards about it. Polanski had made a movie that will haunt those who see it forever -- a cinematic revelation that wisely reminds us--"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." It makes me hope that if perhaps if more love, kindness, mercy and understanding were demonstrated in politics today, we might be able to get further toward global peace. Using words like "Axis of Evil" on our side, and the terms fanatical fundamentalists use to describe us, only fan the flames of hatred - it does not help to put them out.

A Heart in Winter (1992)

Romantic Beautiful French Film

[10/10 · 3 June 2004]

I saw this movie over ten years ago but I still remember it as a beautiful, sensitive, moving film. Emmanuelle Beart was incredibly beautiful in a cold blue eyed honey-haired way and Dan Auteuil was so handsome in that sexy laid-back French way. What I remember best about it, though, was how good the music was. The music was the best thing about it, combined with the beauty of the actors and their bittersweet romance. In fact, afterwards, I rushed out and bought the music of Ravel as performed by the Britten String Quartet for the movie. This is that kind of good movie. I highly recommend it for those who would like to see Emmannuelle Beart at her peak of beauty and to listen to the tender, yearning music of Ravel.

Margaret Cho: CHO Revolution (2004 Video)

Another Fabulous Film from Margaret Cho

[10/10 · 2 June 2004]

As a first generation, similarly "inappropriate" Asian American who grew up in a predominantly white city never quite feeling as "Asian" as other people seem to view me, there is no other comedian I can identify better with than Margaret Cho. Her range is fantastic - she can do hilarious impressions of everyone from asian "old school" relatives to George Bush and Condoleeza Rice, gay men to snotty 14 year olds, Japanese film samurai to Ukiyo-e pictures. I admire her tremendously - a brave, intelligent woman who manages to utilize her own closely-observed experiences of racism and sexism to educate the audience about it. An example - "Whenever I go to a dinner party, inevitably someone tells me 'Too Much Information,' and, 'Don't Go There.' -- Problem is - I live there. I bought a house there. I'll TAKE YOU THERE!'." She wisely advocates the need for constant communication and discussion to bring about the "CHO REVOLUTION."