KipWellsFan Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Trees Lounge (1996) Written and Directed by Steve Buscemi Starring (this is going to be long because there are so many great names):Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny, Mark Boone Junior, Anthony LaPaglia, Elizabeth Bracco, Debi Mazar, Samuel L. Jackson, Daniel Baldwin to name a few. First of all this isn't a film for your casual movie viewer. You won't see anything like this in a theatre, or at least not a theatre looking to make money. It's a story written intelligently around the down and out lives of drinkers and smokers of a small town in New York. There are very funny parts and depressing parts but Steve Buscemi manages to blend the two very well. This is aided wonderfully by absolutely perfect acting from the main cast, especially the always wonderful Buscemi who also starred in the film as Tommy Basilio. Tommy is an auto mechanic who has been recently fired by his boss, his boss also being the one who stole his pregnant girlfriend. Ironically the bosses name is Rob played by Anthony LaPaglia. Now Tommy spends most of his time in the Trees Lounge bar war he encounters and helps many interesting characters. After his Uncle Al dies he takes over his ice cream truck, albeit unsuccesfully which leads him to trouble when he gets involved with a very young Debbie played by Chloe Sevigny in her first role after Kids. In the end Tommy Basilio learns a lot about himself and life in general and has a wild time doing so. This interesting independent film is a must see for hardcore Soprano fans, Indie film fans and drama lovers in general. This movie makes up for its leisurely pace with wonderful acting, script and direction. This film also has a great theme song performed by Hayden appropriately named Trees Lounge. 8/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117958/ My next review will probably be Ong-Bak (2003) Other films I've seen recently Matchstick Men 8/10 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star 5/10 Envy 4/10 Go 7/10 Wannabes 6/10 Re-Animator 5/10 All available on imdb.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Good review, Kip. Nice and short. I haven’t seen this movie but having read this makes me want to go see it. I’ll definitely try to look for this film once I’m at my video store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Steve Buscemi-- the gay guy in Billy Madison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beast Posted October 15, 2004 Share Posted October 15, 2004 Steve Buscemi-- the gay guy in Billy Madison Also the same guy in Seinfeld... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted October 15, 2004 Author Share Posted October 15, 2004 Also the same guy in Seinfeld... Huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted October 28, 2004 Author Share Posted October 28, 2004 (edited) Ju-On (2000) Written and Directed by Takashi Shimizu First off this is the movie that kicked it all off. It was followed by Ju-On 2 , Ju-On The Grudge, Ju-On The Grudge 2, and now the Sarah Michelle Gellar version The Grudge all directed by Shimizu. These movies have since become sort of a mystery due to the fact that very little people actually know there are so many of these movies and that there is an actual order in which they proceed. So I personally decided to buck that trend and watch them from the start. So.... Anyways this movie eerily begins off with a teacher played by Yûrei Yanagi who must visit the ominous home of one of his students Toshio whom has not recently been to school and who's parents have not been able to be reached. When he arrives at the house he discovers the boy is alone at home and his parents are out and about. This is when the movie flashes back into an almost short story mode where it tells the tale of others who have lived and been in the house and what has become of them. One of the characters being played by Chiaki Kuriyama who has gone on to bigger and better things with Battle Royale and Kill Bill. This movie is confusing and made even more confusing by not being used to watching a movie with all Asian people and subtitles. But from what I've understood these people have all been cursed with The Grudge as is described in the beginning of the movie as A curse of one who dies with strong resentment Accumulates in the place where the dead were while alive, and turns into "Karma" He who comes in contact with the curse loses his life, and a new curse is born. After these sequences are finished Shimizu once again returns to the main story of the teacher and his student Toshio. Where we quickly learn what has really become of Toshio's parents. These short story like sequences are very frightening and creepy, and it wasn't the limited amount of gore that got me. It was the great direction and incredible use of sound to freak the s*** out of me. I've never really seen any American horror movies made like this one, and it's almost hard to explain even to myself how a movie with such an erratic and confusing timeline could still be so satisfying. Although maybe I'm just ignoring the fact that many of these confusements(is that a word, if it isn't it should be) will be explained in the sequels, which I now must absolutely see. 8/10 -------------------------------- The Actual Order of the movies is Ju-on (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330500/ Ju-on 2 (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330501/ Ju-on: The Grudge (2003) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364385/ Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (2003) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367913/ The Grudge (2004) Sarah Michelle Gellar one http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391198/ I also believe there is an extremely unknown one that they all follow from 1998. I think it's a short story or something. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330312/ ------------------------------------------ Other movies I've seen since my last review 8mm 6/10 Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry 8/10 Ringu 7/10 My Little Eye 6/10 Edited October 29, 2004 by KipWellsFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 First off this is the movie that kicked it all off. It was followed by Ju-On 2 , Ju-On The Grudge, Ju-On The Grudge 2, and now the Sarah Michelle Gellar version The Grudge all directed by Shimizu. Real interesting fact right there. I’ve thought about going to see The Grudge, which I’ve heard many mediocre thoughts about it, but since this movie, Ju-On, is the one that started it all, I might as well check this one out before viewing The Grudge. Superb review, Kip. Keep up the good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.