Shutter Island, Leo back with the Bahston Accent

Okay, so the main thing I gleamed from this movie was NOT the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio re-embraced his inner Bostonian. It was that Martin Scorsese directed this dark, gloomy thriller with a wicked grin on his face. Shutter Island, which opened last Friday and had a hell of a weekend, had been pushed back over and over again. It was worth the wait. From the ominous, heartpumping score to the dreariness of the island and its inhabitants, Scorsese takes Dennis Lehane's novel and immortalizes it, pleasing and spooking viewers with memorable characters and a killer twist at the end. I know people who hated it, but I know more that loved it, and, clearly, the people who hated it were stupid. Stupid, stupid. Nah, just kidding. This movie isn't for everyone. But if you want to see Leo bring back Billy Costigan but with an actual badge and Mark Ruffalo as his sidekick, see it. Oh, and Sir Ben Kingsley is unreal. That didn't even have to be said.

Rating: TIGHT JOINT.

Chick of the Flick - Michelle Williams

Not your usual supermodel beauty of an actress, but Miss Williams definitely gets it done. With oodles of talent to boot, Michelle Williams scintillates and creeps the absolute crap out of me in today's movie. Here...she...is...

Song of the Flick

Besides a ridiculously creepy score filled with tense and deep bass, today's pick doesn't have much to offer in terms of actual good songs. So, once again, I take advantage of the power bestowed unto me by my virtual superior, Mr. or Mrs. Blogger, and will show y'all a song I've been playin' non-stop on the old iPod. It's a mash-up off of one of DJ Moondance's brilliant mixtapes. Here's "Jimi Boys" off Moondance's "The Crash Album." Yep, Jay-Z and Dave Matthews mashed together. Pretty God damn great.

Crazy Heart, One of the Greatest Movies I've Seen

This is one of the greatest movies I've seen. Think The Wrestler mixed with The Big Lebowski and throw in the Western beauty of No Country for Old Men. Jeff Bridges gives the performance Mickey Rourke gave last year, except he did it better, even though his life story doesn't parallel with the role he played. He's a down-on-his-luck country singer, living off the fumes of his past fame and fortune, touring, boozing, and smoking by himself as he travels around the American West. The script is phenomenal, oozing with Western charm and fantastic dialogue. Maggie Gyllenhall is a great supporting talent, making the chemistry between a thirty-year-old woman and a sixty-year-old slob work perfectly. The movie's filled with amazing shots, from vast nature shots to simple, delicate personal shots of the characters. The film's still in theaters, since it's getting all the buzz for Bridges' Oscar nomination (and future win.) It's amazing to me why the movie did not get nominated for best picture; it's not the most original screenplay of all time, but the film was made so perfectly that it's hard to not recognize it. See it in the theaters while you can. It's a special, special movie.

Rating: TIGHT JOINT

Chick of the Flick

Maggie Gyllenhall doesn't really make the cut for me. So here's an actress I have an insane, stupid, ridiculous crush on. Yep. Jennifer Aniston. Not the most talented broad, but my God, she is beautiful.

Song of the Flick - Weary Kind

Today's pick actually has a song in it that not only will win the Oscar for Best Song, but will go down in history as one of the best songs written for a movie. Weary Kind by Ryan Bingham is both slow and fast, emotional and distant, nostalgic and youthful. Listen in.




Kind of a giveaway of what today's pick is, but I'll let the not-so-intellectual think about it.

When Harry Met Sally, the Ultimate Rom-Com

I posted earlier on this blog that 500 Days of Summer was the perfect rom-com. Well, here's the ultimate rom-com. Yeah, there's a difference. Rob Reiner directs an always funny Billy Crystal and a cutesie Meg Ryan in this 1989 instant classic. It starts with the pair meeting serendipitously on a college campus; Crystal has to get a ride in Ryan's station wagon from Chicago to New York. The long haul on the road provides the spark for the movie and the subsequent friendship, which, you guessed it, leads to a romance. The script is clever, the supporting cast is great; I really enjoyed this movie and I think you will too. See it.

Rating: TIGHT JOINT

Chick of the Flick - Meg Ryan?

Eh? Meg Ryan, huh. Not the best, but she's pretty cute in today's movie. And if you haven't figured it out yet, it is a romantic comedy to prematurely celebrate Valentine's Day. I figure that the huge masses of men who read this blog could use a good movie to watch with a loved one. Anyway, here's Meg Ryan looking perfectly rom-com-like.

Song of the Flick

Today's pick is semi-old school. Well, old school enough for cause to put a song here that's not in the film, but, rather, a song that I've discovered and immediately loved. Kid Cudi is one of my favorite artists right now; here's his remix of Symphonies by Dan Black.

25th Hour, the First Spike Lee JOINT to Grace This Blog

Spike Lee directs this underrated gem. And Spike's leading man is white?!? WHAT?!? Just messin', I'm not knockin' Spike at all, Ed Norton is one of my favorite actors right now and he kills it in this super-tense drama about a man's final hours before he heads to jail. It's full of stars like Rosario (see below), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, my man Barry Pepper, and the list goes on. It's a class Spike Lee film with all the commentary layered under a simple and brilliant plot. The acting's great, the filming's great, and everything just felt right. The movie doesn't move too quickly, so bear with it. But everyone should give it a chance because it's great. It made Ebert's top ten of the decade list?? What?? Yeah, and he knows a thing or too. Unlike me, who just reads Ebert than echoes that opinion for a younger generation. Did I say that? See 25th Hour!

Rating: INAUGURAL ACTUAL TIGHT JOINT

Chick of the Flick - ROSARIO DAWSON

Rosario Dawson. 'Nuff said.

Song of the Flick - Irish Celebration

All right, I've decided that if there isn't a song I absolutely love from my pick of the day, I'm just going to throw a song out there that I really like and everyone else should like too. It's just how this world should be. Here's Macklemore and Ryan Lewis reppin' that Irish pride I bear so well. IRISH CELEBRATION. And there's some Irish stuff in the pick so I'm not totally off.

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, A Crafty, Star-Studded Affair.

Paul McGuigan, before he directed the absolutely abysmal "Push," had the extreme fortune of coming across Jason Smilovic's dynamite script and making the awesome, star-studded LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN. Along with the always likable Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu, we see Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, and, my man, Mykelti Williamson (He played Bubba in Forrest Gump). What's not to like here? The plot involves Josh Hartnett's character, oddly named Slevin, who gets mixed up in this whole ordeal involving Morgan Freeman's family and Ben Kingsley's family, and neither of these families handle ordeals without violence. That's a double negative, so I paint a pretty clear picture. Think Guy Ritchie, but with Americans, and less clever dialogue, but an equally clever plot. It goes back and forth from star to star, and it's an absolute joy to watch. SEE IT.

Rating: TIGHT JOINT

Chick of the Flick - LUCY LIU

The pride of Taiwan hits the always relevant airwaves of JOINTS AND FLICKS. Our first Asian! All right! She's absolutely beautiful, by the way. And she's in my next pick, whodathunk?

Song of the Flick - THE KANSAS CITY SHUFFLE

Oh, yes. j. Ralph hits us with the Kansas City Shuffle. What a classy jam this is, and it's absolutely vital to my next pick. So listen to it as a prerequisite for the next flick, okay?