4 Razors

Tokyo Godfathers

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Tokyo Godfathers
  • IMDB: link

It’s funny how a child can bring people closer together, and pull them from the depths of desperation.  In the movie Tokyo Godfathers, by the same person of Paprika and Millennium Actress, three homeless friends happen to be in the right place at the right time.

One Christmas eve, the three friends were digging through some trash for presents for one another when they discovered an abandoned infant.  The child was crying, cold and hungry, so the three did the right thing and took it in for the night.

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Mamet + MMA = Good Times

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Redbelt
  • IMDB: link

redbelt-poster

Okay, I love David Mamet, but at first glance the mixture of Mamet and mixed martial arts sounds like a formula for disaster.  With memories of many horrific MMA themed films running through my head (including Hollywood’s latest blunder) I sat down to see what one of the best writers working today had to say on the subject.  I walked out a very happy man.

Our story centers around Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a guru and owner of a martial arts dojo struggling to get by.

A series of events disrupt Mike’s world and force him to make hard choices about his core beliefs about martial arts, training, and his disdain for competing in staged MMA tournaments.

This is a David Mamet script and, as you would expect, things don’t go from A to B here, and if they do it’s never in a straight line.  There are surprises, twists, and an elaborate con which leaves our hero out of options and at odds with the world and himself.

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Iron Man

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Iron Man
  • IMDB: link

“I want to protect the people I put in harm’s way.”

The film follows the life-changing events of weapons manufacturer and wealthy industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).  After performing a weapons demonstration in the Middle East Stark is captured by terrorists and forced to design new weapons for their use.  In a last-ditch effort to save his life, Stark creates a armored suit, powered by the small power source keeping him alive, to escape and make his way home.

On arriving back in the states Stark proceeds to shut down the weapons manufacturing part of Stark Industries (which is most of the company), to the displeasure of longtime friend and business parter Obadiah Stone (Jeff Bridges), and begins a new project – one which will eventually be tabbed by local media as Iron Man.

Directed by Jon Favreau, who also has a small role casting himself as Happy Hogan, the film mixes action, state of the art special effects, humor, and drama to give us one of the better comic book films ever made.  This is a fanboy’s wet dream come to life.

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Good Time Charlie

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Charlie Wilson’s War
  • IMDB: link

“Why is Congress saying one thing and doing nuthin’?”
“Well, tradition mostly.”

charlie-wilsons-war-dvdThe film is based on the true events of a Congressman from a small district in Texas named Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) who with the help of a rich debutante (Julia Roberts) and a rebel CIA agent (Philip Seymour Hoffman) changed the world.

This is simply a fascinating tale written with the trademark Aaron Sorkin wit, performed by three wonderful leads and a strong supporting cast (including the beautiful Amy Adams, Jud Tylor, Cyia Batten, Hilary Angelo, and Emily Blunt), and directed with both humanity and flair by Mike Nichols.  For more on the film read the original review.

Here’s a terrific tale, all the more mesmerizing because it’s true.  Charlie Wilson and his covert war in Afghanistan is a piece of history told exceptionally well by this list of talented professionals.  Although the DVD isn’t packed with as much extra material as I would like, the featurettes are nice, and the film itself is the real prize.

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Air Guitar Nation

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Air Guitar Nation
  • IMDb: link

“To err is human.  To air guitar is divine.”

Air Guitar Nation DVD review

The documentary Air Guitar Nation takes a look at the first ever American Air Guitar Championships as men like Dan Crane (AKA Bjorn Turoque) and David S. Jung (AKA C-Diddy) compete to earn a chance to travel to the International Air Guitar Championships in Finland to compete against air guitarists from all over the globe.

The documentary accepts and celebrates the absurdity of the situation and takes us all on a wonderful ride filled with people who view air guitar as a serious art form.

We watch the early competitions in New York and Los Angeles, then travel overseas and view the two week training course in Finland where the artists are instructed on the finer points of performing (including handling groupies!).  Silly?  You bet!

By the time the final competition arrives we are fully immersed in this world with our own favorites and are ready to root for them (or even take the stage ourselves and show them how its done).  Bjorn and C-Diddy push each other and the other performers from around the world to put on their best and leave it all out on stage.  Although only one is crowned champion all the performers earn the chance to live out a dream, and so each is a winner.  In a world where competition can divide and destroy it’s refreshing to see it bring together a diverse group from around the world in a peaceful competition and a shared dream.

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