Movies that deserve the repeat viewings during a party

I love parties that shamelessly play bad films with a cult following (or classics) in the background while everyone gets drunk.
Every good house party should be doing this (note: eccentric music videos aren’t a bad idea either).

There’s nothing like striking up a convo with a fellow reveler who is just as involved in watching the tragedy, greatness (or weirdness) unfold on the muted tube as your awesome music plays from your (hopefully) awesome party playlist.

Here are some must play films for your next crib party (a nice mix of bad and good films for you):

Showgirls
The Evil Dead (the original version or it’s sequel – can’t go wrong with either)
Suspiria
Heavy Metal
Videodrome
Scanners
Gymkata
The Shining
Enter The Void
Valhalla Rising
Inception
Memento
Rec, Rec 2 & Rec 3
Demons
The Church

Honestly…the list is endless, but if you can slap any if these together for your next shindig – then do so and watch what happens.

E

Flicks you should’ve seen in 2012

It’s that time of the year to share the list of movies you should’ve payed good money for in 2012 (Like I did).
Here is a short list of films that I enjoyed last year and are worthy of your time as well.

Looper (it’s on Blu and DVD now) –
The biggest surprise of the year that could net Rian Johnson an Oscar for best original screenplay.**
Looper’s trailer led us to believe the film is simply about hitmen and time travel, but the story is a lot deeper than what was let on (a brilliant but risky ploy by the marketing dept). A must watch – just don’t think too much about the plot afterwards…

Django Unchained –
It’s Quentin Tarantino at his spaghetti western best. As usual: controversial story with great characters, fantastic dialogue and bloody mayhem make up another great Tarantino experience. Just remember, the D is silent.

Argo –
If there was one movie you HAD to see – trust me, it’s Argo. Taut, thrilling and beautifully directed the film could lead to Ben Affleck’s finest hour (as a filmmaker) in Lala land. The film’s climax is breathtaking and it also boasts the best catch phrase of the year (“Argo f**k yourself!”)

Zero Dark Thirty –
Kathryn Bigalow brings us the hunt for OBL in this thrilling film that despite knowing the outcome – you’re still pushed to the edge of your seat (as did Argo).

The Dark Knight Rises –
Chris Nolan brings his masterful Batman trilogy to a close with this flawed but exciting film that will make me (and most of us sad to see it end).

The Avengers –
Marvel & Disney brought together an all star cast to play a bunch of all star superheroes. Joss Wheden (who sadly missed with Cabin In The Woods) hit a homerun with this comic book epic – great story, nice balance of characters and a lot of fun. Give it a shot.

Skyfall –
Where do I begin? I know – let’s start with the fact that Skyfall had a legitimate shot at being the first Bond film to be nominated for best picture. That’s right – BEST PICTURE.
It’s that good.
Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes are all stellar in the latest installment of the 007 franchise which features everything you want to see in a bond film: great locales, sexy women, fashion (I had to go out and seek the Billy Reid peacoat Mr. Craig wore in the film) and yup, the most famous of all Bond cars, the kick ass Aston Martin DB5.

The Master –
Lacks blood, guts and laughter, but that’s just fine with me. The film is a tense portrayal of two men who become involved in each others lives. Hoffman and Phoenix match up perfectly and the film is stunningly shot (I was fortunate enough to catch the 70mm screening). The film is not for everyone, but go see it if you enjoy strong performances and a story that will linger in your mind for days.

Moonrise Kingdom –
If Wes Anderson makes a movie – I will see it. Moonrise Kingdom is another solid treat from the director. A small town gathers a search party to look for a pair of kids who fall in love and run away together. MK has all the elements of the usual W.Anderson film: colorful visuals, great characters (played by great actors) and an awesome musical score.

Silver Linings Playbook –
Everyone involved here (Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and especially Robert DeNiro give amazing performances in this quirky, thoughtful, funny love story that is splendidly directed by David O. Russell (who also gave us ‘The Fighter’).
I was instantly hooked from the first scene and never let go – if Argo (my personal fave to win) hadn’t been released in ’12 – I’d have put all my money on ‘Silver’ to win the top prize (though it still could).

Other notables:
Lincoln – wasn’t a fan (I had trouble trying to stay awake) but Daniel Day Lewis was certainly fun to watch.

Flight – Denzel and John Goodman are amazing (and the film doesn’t end the way you think it will).

Jack Reacher – Tom Cruise in a muscle car chase scene? I’m there.

Make the effort to watch these gems as well:

Killing Me Softly –
Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta give excellent performances in this vastly underseen film about hit men and the recession.

The Raid –
Excellent martial arts mayhem not seen in a very long time.

End Of Watch –
Rock solid cop film

Holy Motors & Amour –
I haven’t seen either of these French imports (as of this writing) but they rank high on my list of films to catch ASAP.

Beasts of the Southern Wild –
Filled with striking imagery and an amazing performance by the young lead actress Quvenzhané Wallis makes this powerful film worthy of a viewing as well.

An update including RZA’s new flick

A couple of years ago I signed on with WordPress with the idea that I would write about movies and make recommendations (mostly) to my friends and to anyone who would take the time to read my posts. I obviously veered away from that path.

I mean, what makes my opinion (as awesome as they are) better than the countless reviewers out there?

So I took a major step back and decided to go without a theme and simply post stuff about…stuff.
Movies, music, food, cooking, drinking, mixology, picture taking and above all: making movies.

Stuff.
So there it is and that is what shall be.

I will still offer up some film recommendations (too many great films go unseen)! But more importantly I will continue focusing on posting general things that interest me (and hopefully you).

I leave you with this:
The poster for The RZA’s (hopefully)awesome new flick, The Man With The Iron Fist – presented by Quentin Tarantino and starring Russell Crowe (!) coming soon!

Thank you for taking the time to read,
E

The Good SAMaritan gallery screening. Cast & Crew.

3.10.2012.

A completed film.

A roomful of viewers.

An awesome gallery event.

I was anxious, nervous and excited.  The feelings were intense! That night, I took a ride on cloud 9.

After the film ended….I felt I had accomplished something.

Here are some photos of the screening along with shots of the Q&A that followed with the cast and crew of The Good SAMaritan.

More to follow.

Special thanks to Sung Kwang Kim for making this event happen at his gallery – Open Space in Long Island City, Queens.

Program (presented as follows)

Pandora’s Box (16MM) – There was a special gallery version screened – this is the original.**

The film  – The Good SAMaritan. (Shown in 2 parts with intermission)

followed by bloopers -There was a also special gallery version screened – this is the original.**

E

The Good SAMaritan: part 2 of 2.

The conclusion.

Hope you enjoy,

E

The Good SAMaritan, Part 1.

Time is precious. It really is.

A few years went by (so fast!) before I finally completed a short film titled, “The Good Samaritan”.

The short story was put together relatively quick (a few short hours) by David Diez, Ulises Rodriguez and Myself. Our inspiration was the Alfred Hitchcock film, “Strangers on a Train” – a story about a psychotic young man who confronts a pro tennis player with an idea on how the two strangers can get away with murder…an idea the young man is serious about putting into play.

See it if you haven’t already done so. You won’t regret it.

Now,

The Good Samaritan:

is about a man named Ian (played brilliantly by Terry M. Clarke) whose life is saved by a stranger named “Sam” (menacingly portrayed by Derek Michalak). Sam takes care of Ian, gets him home safely. The two men bond. Then — Sam traps Ian into an unfair deal — Kill a mysterious woman (Jenny L. Saldaña) who is blackmailing Sam or….

Can’t spoil it any further. But, I will say this – Sam reveals an unpleasant surprise that further complicates Ian’s life. Yeah…

The Good Samaritan is a suspense thriller starring these very talented actors:

Terry M. Clarke (Ian)

Derek Michalak (Sam)

Jenny L. Saldaña (Mysterious Woman)

Jessica Jennings (Ian’s wife)

And to add: I want to personally say THANK YOU to each and every one of them along with the awesome crew who helped make it all possible.

THANK YOU.

The film was Directed & Edited by Eliezer Vergara & David Diez

Screenplay written by Eliezer Vergara

Original Score by the talented Alvin Ealy

NOTE: The short film is 24 min long but has been split into 2 parts (12 min each segment) for easy online viewing.

I NOW PRESENT TO YOU PART 1 of The Good SAMaritan.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

E.

DOUBLE NOTE: Make sure to check out the behind the scenes here on my site – https://elivergara.wordpress.com/

Update.

Whoa, it’s been 8 days since my last post!
Lots of stuff going on lately and all of it has been good!
Here it is in a nutshell (not really):

I finally had my short film premiere at the Open Space gallery in Long Island City, N.Y.! Thank you Kim Sung!
The screening was a great success and I will be posting some pics to share the amazing experience with all of you soon!
The night of 3.10.12 has inspired me to pursue my dreams of making movies now more than ever before.
The experience of being in a room full of cineastes and admirers of the craft reminded me of the days when I was in film school several years ago.
What happened then you wonder?
Life.
It simply got in the way because I allowed it to. I never gave myself the opportunity to chase it the way I should have then.
So, there. Lesson learned. Now time to make some movies.
In the meantime, here is a pic of the Q&A held with cast and crew afterward.
E

Special thanks:
Terry M Clarke, David Diez, Ulises Rodrigues, Jenny Saldaña, Sung Kwang Kim, Jessica Jennings, Carlos Gonzalez and Derek Michalak.

Congratulations.

To the cast and crew of The Artist for winning Best picture of 2011, best actor and best director.
Now, go see it people.

And the winner is…

Just Kidding.
But, if Inglorious Basterds WERE competing this year–it would TOTALLY win. Just because.

All joking set aside, ‘Underwhelmed’ best describes my feeling on the class of 2011.
Outside of Drive, The Artist, The Girl With The Drag Tattoo, Shame, The Rum Diary, Rise Of The Apes & The Descendants there wasn’t much to brag about.

So would it be a surprise to anyone if The Artist wins the big award this year?

The charming B&W film certainly deserves to win. It is a silent film that relies on the visual element (accompanied by a fantastic score) to tell a story that is easy to follow.

The Artist also harks back to a golden age of film when stories – not special effects – mattered. The actor WAS the special effect.

I highly recommend The Artist if you you haven’t already seen it.

I also recommend (highly) The Descendants – another great film (that MAY pull an upset over The Artist).
George Clooney’s performance as a father trying to juggle his two daughters, his job and uncovered secrets may net him another Oscar.

We’ll find out on 2.26.2012

E

You just never know…

I ran into this today:

One of the fun things about living in New York?

It is not uncommon to run into a film crew shooting a commercial, a music video or even a movie on the streets of NYC.

True Story.

E