Oct 8: The Faculty

"Students suspect that their teachers are aliens after bizarre occurrences."

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez, Rated: R, 104 minutes

Robert Rodriquez is one of my favorite directors working today. The stuff he churns out continues to be awesome (amid the Spy Kids and Shark Boys). However, he's one of those guys whose career you can look back upon and really love the hell out of it. From Desperado, to From Dusk Til Dawn, he started off with a bang. The Faculty, his follow-up to Dawn, is just as impressive, bringing the gore and guts we're familiar with as well as his usual humor and style. And while he didn't write the script, like most of his movies, The Faculty still feels like a genuine Rodriguez movie. And it is glorious.

Joss Whedon gets all the credit for making movies FOR fanboys, but Mr. Rodriguez here deserves the same amount of recognition. 

The Faculty tells the story about a bunch of kids who believe their high school teachers are aliens hiding in the bodies of school's staff. Elijah Wood plays Casey, a nerdy photographer who's the first to discover that something is wrong. As all horror movies go, no one believes him. So, he recruits the help of his fellow classmates (most of whom look down on him) to discover the secret behind what's happening. Throw in a massive cast that includes the likes of Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Salma Hayek, Famke Jensen, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, and even Usher AND Jon Stewart, and The Faculty is simply too much fun to pass up. 

The Daily Show clearly saved Stewart from a career of this. I'll leave it up to you to decide if it was for the better or worse. 

While the film has its weaknesses (it falls prey to a script riddled with cliches) it still manages to poke fun at the fact, being more aware of its problem than anything else. It's a really genius idea, as the target demographic of the film (teenagers) would end up going back to school questioning their teachers and the setting is something we can all relate to. The dialogue shared between the characters is also rather realistic, but still suffers from the fact that nearly everyone playing a high school kid is played by a twenty something. The script also is full of references to tons of film favorites, from The Terminator franchise to Alien. But, it's in the suspense and effects that The Faculty shines. There are moments that pull you to the edge of your seat, making you worried about the characters, even if you don't care about them as much as you should. And of course, the acting is just good enough to get by, with each actor or actress having a blast with the film, knowing full well how campy and glorious it all really is. 

I'd pay a lot of money to see The Flying Spaghetti Monster emerging from the mouth of a T-1000. 

The Faculty is a great movie for Halloween, or even any occasion  It's part invasion flick, part zombie movie and it blends in a bit of the self-aware narration that made the horror movies of the 90s so good. It's not a classic by any means, but the idea is great, the execution is fun, and seeing all of the people in the movie together, well before their stardom, makes you appreciate it even more. The film also has an underlying sexuality to it that tailors to the hormones of horror fans, teasing you just enough to stay even more interested. It's also worth mentioning that the film is rated R, which elevates ANY horror movie into something great, even if it's terrible. The Faculty is on Netflix. Go and watch it. Or you can be lame and actually do your homework... but alien faculty sounds so much more fun. 

The Good:
clever script that has a lot of humor, a good amount of suspense, and a dash of sexy
The Better:
pretty good special effects for the small kind of movie it is and seeing what Rodriguez can make out of something that could have easily been dismissed
The Best:
the cast is so full of people you'll recognize and the bringing together of all these faces is just so cool

Overall: 7.7/10

Trailer:

Sept 27: Rounders

"A young man is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks."

Directed by: John Dahl, Rated: R, 121 minutes

Poker is an incredibly popular sport, with it's popularity growing even more each year. Sure, it's not a contact sport like football, or as fast-paced as basketball. Hell, it doesn't even have the American past-time magic like baseball. But nonetheless, it's a very exciting game that pits man against man and can make or break someone (in seconds). So, it leaves you wondering why more movies haven't been about the sport. I mean, the game is thrilling in its own right so you can imagine how suspenseful a movie about poker could be. Well, keeping up with the earlier sports comparisons, Rounders is to poker what Field of Dreams is to baseball and Hoosiers is to basketball. 

Although I think corn whispering in poker would be considered cheating. 

Matt Damon plays Mike, a wannabe law student who struggles with an addiction to gambling. After losing everything he has to the Oreo-loving Russian, KGB (John Malkovich), Mike vows to never play again. However, an old friend from his past, Worm (Edward Norton), is released from prison and immediately wants back in the game. The two flirt with a couple of games, falling back into their old routines of playing off one another and hustling "rookies". Worm tells Mike that the game is more than just fun for him and reveals he's in debt to the wrong guy. Mike, being the great friend he is, vouches for Worm and tells the collector he's good for the money. The two have five days to win $15,000 or fear the worst. 

Oreo, milk's (and Russia's) favorite cookie. 

The best part of Rounders is the acting. In the fast-talking, gripping world of poker, you need damn good actors to play the part realistically. Matt Damon is terrific as Mike, who's simply a good guy who gets in too deep. He's confident and charismatic, and can keep up with the script and each hand dealt to him. He's the guy you want to root for no matter what situation he finds himself in, and seeing him struggle is harder to watch than it would be with other actors in the role. Of course, Edward Norton plays his anti-hero partner to great effect, playing the down and out dog, practically kicked to death with just enough sleeze to hate but with enough sympathy to cheer for (kind of).  The supporting cast is also superb with Gretchen Mol, Martin Landau, and John Tuturro fleshing out the film. 

Grandpa Landau has a very emotional scene where he talks about being old and awesome. 

Even if you're not a fan of poker (Rounders teaches you how to play almost immediately after it starts), the movie is still fun to watch. Sure, it has it's problems- specifically in the pacing department, and the ending is very predictable, but as an overall film it's worth the time. Poker's a great sport and deserves more attention outside the tables in Vegas. Rounders does it justice. Director John Dahl manages to capture the intensity of the sport to great effect, all with the help of a tremdendous cast. Rounders is the perfect follow-up to Good Will Hunting for the (then) young Matt Damon, and shows early signs that the kid's going to become the star he is today. I would highly recommend the film. 

The Good:

showcasing a sport that doesn't get the attention it deserves, all with a great cast led by Matt Damon

The Bad:

pacing problems that can be easily ignored but still lead you see where the movie's going almost immediately once it gets started

The Ugly:

wondering what it would feel like to lose $15,000 in a single hand of poker and having your entire life pulled out from under you

Overall: 7.6/10

Trailer:

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