Red State Kevin Smith

I'd intended to write something about this movie some time ago but like with a lot of things, time got away from me. Kevin Smith is best known for his series of movies featuring the View Askew universe but on this new (and it appears his second to last movie) he has gone in a darker direction. Basically it's the story of three youths who go looking for sex in the wrong place and are set up by an extremely right wing church who believe it's okay to lure people in and presumably torture and/or kill them because they are sinners. To him this is a horror film although it's not a slasher type of film but more about what the people are doing is horrifying.



Just a few days after wrapping the film Smith already had finished editing it and showed it at the cast and crew party and then readied it for Sundance. While there he created a furor when he announced that instead of doing a tour of his normal Q&A he would instead tour the film and then do a Q&A after the viewing. Later he will release the film domestically under his own banner. The fact is that Kevin Smith is attempted to do something new instead of following the Hollywood formula of selling the film and then having the studio that buys it throw millions of dollars into an ad campaign that Smith does not believe will bring any new eyes to the screens. Instead he would rather preach to his audience and base his success or failure on that. I commend him for this attempt and can't wait to see the film. He has been an inspiration to me as I try to get my old butt off the couch and finally start writing some of my ideas down. It doesn't matter if nothing happens with them right now, getting them on paper is the first and most important step. After that, it's all gravy.

Clerks II and Soul Asylum

Back in November I was able to buy some DVDs for my birthday but have been slow to watch them. Some of it is just timing with my soon to be three year old who commands the tv far too much. Some of it is because I get quite a few DVDs from the library and don't always get to watch them because I just don't have enough time.



So anyway, I finally got around to watching the Clerks II DVD that I purchased. True to form I couldn't watch it straight through but I was able to watch it in two parts on consecutive nights. I like Kevin Smith's work (in spite of the foul language) basically because I think I somewhat get what he's trying to say (Dogma for instance). That doesn't mean I always agree completely with him but I try not to have any expectations and approach a movie on it's own merits. Clerks II was a fun romp with some of his characters (and friends appearing in bit parts) that I think he has now put away, at least for the time being. Maybe in another ten years he'll dust off the mothballs and we'll see what has become of Dante, Randall, Jay and Silent Bob as they move into their forties.

During the final credits there was a song playing that I liked a lot. It was "Misery" by Soul Asylum and it is a slow builder that the band knows how to do well. It just kind of struck me at the time as being really good so I thought why not throw it up here as well? Doesn't hurt anything plus I just like to listen to it.

Cop Out Trailer and mini review

Last Thursday I decided to take a night off from work (and the family) and went to see Cop Out, the latest movie directed by Kevin Smith that stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as not just cops but partners. This is the first movie that he has directed that he has not written so it's basically a test to see if he could do a regular Hollywood movie. When I got to the theater it was empty since it was an early showing on a weekday so I was extremely lucky. I'm sure Kevin would disagree with me since he'd want the theater to be packed full of crazed fans spending all of their cash but what do expect in Tulsa? How often can you say you had the place to yourself right? Anyway, I didn't expect an Oscar worthy movie, just a funny cop buddy flick with some action and Cop Out did not disappoint me. This was about unwinding, not thinking about work or about what my soon to be three year old was doing while I tried to watch something. I laughed out loud and enjoyed the movie and my time away from home. Well, at least for a little while. Sometimes you need a break and this was mine. It was $8.50 well spent and just maybe (okay probably) I'll get it when it comes out on dvd.



I've sort of been on a Kevin Smith kick lately. I've watched one of his Evening With dvds, listened to all of the SModcasts, read his books and even buckled down to see Jersey Girl which was not a bad movie and didn't deserve the grief it was given. For me it was nice to see him succeed directing this film which will be his highest grossing film to date. Hopefully it will fuel him and he'll be able to go forward with some of the projects that he's been wanting to bring forth.