Post by StevePulaski on Oct 10, 2010 16:52:48 GMT -5
Overall "August Rush" Rating: ★★★
From August 10 - October 10, 2010 I conducted a one month (which turned into a three month) event where I would watch one movie a day from August 9, 2010 to August 31, 2010 and write a review on it. It would be called "The August Rush" like I was on a rush where I couldn't stop watching films and feeling incomplete if I didn't speak my mind on them if I didn't write a review. Its something only I could understand.
I watched a plethora of films from various genres; satire, comedy, horror, documentary, parody, romance, low budget, farce, crime drama, kid movies, etc. Everything I watched I watched for a purpose. When we watch a movie there's always something behind it. But what led me to watch so many strange things? I'll describe theme below.
Chasing Amy - A praised Kevin Smith film I never made time for until August 9.
Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D - A concert I couldn't see in person.
BASEketball - Trey/Matt's only lead role in a film got my attention.
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd - A prequel I just had to see.
Dogma - A Kevin Smith film I overlooked and ignored because of plot.
Taintlight - A parody film with more effort than Vampires Suck.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World - An 8/16-bit adventure I couldn't miss.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - A newer Kevin Smith film lacking the View Askew characters.
Casino - A Scorsese movie I hadn't seen in years.
Gone Fishin' - Joe Pesci. PG? Not Home Alone? Had to see it.
Dead Dudes in the House - A low budget Horror film thats not a remake.
Suspiria - An Argento film. Enough said.
Jersey Girl - Once more, another Kevin Smith film.
The Simpsons Movie - A big screen adventure I only enjoyed once.
Good Dick - Gotta support indies.
House Party - I wanted to experience a party...rocked by Kid n' Play!
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Dear God, I'm Kevin Smith'd out.
Where the Heart Is - An Oxygen film with a lot in store.
Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber - Had potential, but quickly lost it.
The Big Lebowski - A good friend told me too...
Eve's Beach Fantasy - Troma's name lured me.
Naked Fear - Blind plot interested me.
As you can see, most of these film's I went into blindly and head first. I had no idea what I was in store with most of these films. Films like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and The Simpsons Movie I had seen before but rewatched to refresh my hazy memory on the movie. Films like House Party and The Big Lebowski I dove into in September because I was already so behind with TAR I had to just pick a bunch of films and start watching ASAP. I had no idea it would take me till October to finish what is dubbed The August Rush. Now on to the best film of TAR.
Casino: Rarely does a film give me the feeling of hate, shock, and motivation all in one film and Casino did just that. I hated the character Nicky Santoro, but loved the way he was portrayed by Joe Pesci. I was shocked at some of the content in the film which I won't go into for the sake of spoilers. As well as taking motivation from the character Sam Rothstein into be quiet and just do what you're best at. Just keep your head up and take a serious approach to something. Casino is without a doubt the best film in The August Rush with Dogma being a close second. Yet Dogma didn't leave me with the taste Casino did. But there's always a bad apple out there.
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd: This is a case of it may be fun to make, but it's not fun to watch. I'm sure all the cast members of Dumb and Dumberer are laughing at things that may have happened in a blooper or an event that took place before the shooting of the film, but I'm not laughing one bit. The film is a lame prequel recycling every farce element on the planet from experiencing brain freeze, to running into and hitting each other on the head, and even the tiresome joke where yelling about feces for two minutes doesn't even form a grin. This is the most unnecessary prequel out there and probably the most annoying as well. Nobody is doing well and no one seems to really care how it turns out. Collect the check and finish up this mess.
Eve's Beach Fantasy: This is definitely the strangest film of TAR bunch. I've seen a lot of garbage in my day, but I have not seen so much low budget softcore porn in one movie. While April Adams is a very beautiful woman to look at and to watch her swim and tan is eye candy to men and myself, the movie falls flat and just doesn't surpass the level of mediocre. It has some cute scenes and the underwater scene is something I'd call memorable. But all in all, it's just a movie that isn't worth my time.
Chasing Amy: Chasing Amy is the funniest Comedy in The August Rush. I enjoy the company of the film and just how it makes me feel and the looks of it are nice to view. That's a weird thing to say about a film, to enjoy the company of it? It's not your significant other. But it's that good. It's an enjoyable realistic movie that combines clever lines of dialogue and very amusing characters that may exist in the world. Chasing Amy is probably the deepest Kevin Smith film and while it doesn't knock down my favorite film Clerks from it's spot, it sits firmly in second place for best Kevin Smith film.
Dead Dudes in the House: Horror films have come a long way and Dead Dudes shows that even with a low budget a Horror film can have an amazing thing going for it. The film is campy fun which is something I love in Horror films. It's setting is a creepy house set in blue-light tone with very low budget cameras, nothing special, but its treated like it. Everything needed to make a good Horror film is right here in this film. Troma's best film by far.
In conclusion, The August Rush was an experiment much like The Book of Horror was (which is in the same board as this one). I wanted to try and watch one film everyday. But I technically failed in that category on the third day I didn't watch anything and I was behind ever since that day. It was definitely a unique experience in the world of film and I wish it didn't go on for as long as it did. Aside from that is was a fun experience and hopefully I can do "The Summer Rush" in 2011.