Movies On IFC

Our satellite dish has been fucked up all summer. Sometimes we can get the local channels, no problem, but during rain, or wind, or at night.. it gets all sketchy and we have to change it to one of the cable stations. Which is fine, as summer television is lame. So, besides being a big "House Hunters" fan (and all those Canadian home shows on HGTV.... I now say the word "house" like a Canadian.. "h-owe-se"), it is a great escape to have the Independent Film Channel.


I'm not usually drawn to too much animation, but Howl's Moving Castle really held my attention. A fantasy about witches and wizards, with dreamlike visuals, like this:

Howl's castle moving over the mountains
This story was so imaginative, and the animation was beautiful. Not just a kids cartoon, for sure.

Lucy Liu Steals the show

Another film was Watching The Detectives. I missed some of the beginning (the down side to watching movies on television..), but Lucy Liu is totally charming in this role, and the story was really fun, in a High Fidelity kind of way. 

If you loved Memento, like I did, then you'll probably love 11:14. A tightly knit together series of events that revolves around a couple of murders that happen on or around the time of 11:14 pm in a random small town. Very funny, great acting by some top notch actors (especially the amazing Hillary Swank, with braces on her teeth... oh she's so good...  and Patrick Swayze as a too-soft and dumb father), and not a hole left in place as the events tie together to a perfect end.

Swank Rocks

The soundtrack rocks, and I was really excited at the end when I recognized the first closing credits song "All American Girl" by Angry Johnny And The Killbillies. I used to hang out with Johnny when I lived in the Western Massachusetts town of Northampton, and am the proud owner of one his paintings, as well. 

Last night we watched Another Day In Paradise. James Woods stars in this and he totally kills as long-time criminal and sometime drug user Uncle Mel. Even old Melanie Griffith does a bang up job as a junkie with a heart.. she stuck a needle in her neck, for christ's sake!

Griffith's Got Balls

Naturally there is a gory violent scene or three, but not so much to freak me out (or maybe I'm just getting more numb to it), but the humor and acting (I read some of the scenes were ad libbed) is great, and I was totally charmed by actress Natasha Gregson Wagner, who sadly lost her mother Natalie Wood at the age of 11 years. Another rocking soundtrack, too.

Uncle Jim by Sun City Girls