Dazed and Confused (1993)

directed by Richard Linklater
with: Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Ben Affleck, Rory Cochrane, Cole Hauser, Matthew McConaughey, Sasha Jenson, and Parker Posey

After an artful and accurate attempt at depicting college life with monotony in Slacker, Linklater decided to take a step backwards in time and forward in rhythm, to depict the lives of confused youngsters who are realizing their high school days are over and therefore, need to use time wisely. Dazed by this feeling, the different stereotypes of high schoolers decide to drink, smoke, drive around town, have sex, hang out and talk, all without a particular purpose except to portray reality with truth, rather than cheesy fantasies.

In this semi-autobiographical piece, Linklater is so honest that Dazed and Confused is probably the most important and significant movie about the last days of high school ever made; it feels real and awakens moments of nostalgia. It is fun and rebelious and represents an entire generation and culture.

Very recommended.
Rating: 8.25/10

Slacker (1991)

directed by Richard Linklater

In indie cult classic, Slacker, Linklater let's us listen and observe the directionless but educated young demographic of Austin, Texas. These group of unmotivated bohemians raise interesting topics that may be considered postmodern (global warming is discussed). These exchanges of ideas between people are usually in the form of monologues, where one expresses their point of view to the other, interested or not, who listens or pretends to listen. The pace of conversation and the rhythm of the movie represent the slacker's apparent way of life: linear, routine and almost boring. But the things said have a three-dimensional structure of required intellect; relevant or not, true or false.

Linklater borrows Luis Bunuel's idea in The Phantom of Liberty, where the story of a character is followed by a passer-by's story and so on until the ending of the movie. So, once a character is out of the scene, they will never appear again. This way, the director gives us a quick and generalized glance of the slacker population with a surrealist and comedic eye. Slacker is clearly about those who think, talk and complain, instead of acting and reacting and for those who embrace irony and absurdity.

Very recommended.
Rating: 8.25/10

Mullholland Dr. (2001)

written and directed by David Lynch

with: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux

It's hard to put Mulholland Dr. into words since it is a collection of beautiful imagery and sound that flow so perfectly and violently into the viewer's mind that if one does not let go it may not work. Mulholland Dr. is only for those who enjoy a truly cinematic experience, so complex that even the DVD includes 10 clues to solve the mystery. Because the mystery is not only the one in the movie but in the audience's perception of it. It is one of those surrealist pieces that is paved in dreamlike sequences that do belong but easily seem not to. And the great thing about the movie is that it does makes sense, most things are there for a reason. And when you get to decipher the decisions that Lynch made and when you truly understand its essence and narrative, it can be nearly one of the best movies of all times, because it pretty much dives into the power of the subconscious mind of a character that belongs to the Hollywood filmmaking environment.

It is a movie about a woman's dream of becoming an actress, (Betty/Diane Selwyn interpreted by Watts), and a dream based on that dream, and the reasons of why she dreams that, and the clues of why her psyche works the way it works in her dream and in her real life. And this is all purely natural and understandable, so humanistic if you are empathetic about her life situation. She is jealous about her ex-partner (she left her for a man, a movie director played by Theroux) and successful actress (Camilla Rhodes/Rita played by Harring) that she makes a decision that she regrets. It is all so detailed and meticulous that a lot of events and objects that may seem insignificant or out of place are most important to understand it. I won't go further because I could end up writing one thousand pages on particularities and personal assumptions and I do not want to spoil it or mislead you. I encourage you to watch it as many times as necessary until you understand it.

Must see.

Rating: 9.75/10

It (1990)

directed by Tommy Lee Wallace

based on a novel by Stephen King

with: Harry Anderson, Richard Masur, Tim Reid, Richard Thomas, Dennis Christopher, Annette O'Toole, John Ritter, Tim Curry, Seth Green, Brandon Crane, Jonathan Brandis, Olivia Hussey

I remembered being excessively frightened by this movie when I was a kid. I had nightmares with Pennywise and I was afraid of sewers for a while. Agh, scary memories. I decided to watch it again to finally get over it a few days ago and it still contains some of the fearful ideas it used to have in the nineties. It is a horror movie, not for kids, but childish in many ways. It is scary, not explicitly but idealistically, and it is long, with over 3 hours of footage. It is so early nineties that it is hard to dislike. The director made some really good decisions when making this film. The clown almost always looks directly at the camera, which reminds the viewer that he is in a movie, but that at the same time he can almost reach out and eat you. It has some very cheesy moments, some funny moments, and some family-friendly scenes that change the rhythm of the movie. At the same time it contains horrifying, imaginative moments that will traumatize some of the younger kids who are attracted by balloons. In essence the movie is only about childhood fears, overcoming them and being haunted by them sometimes in adult life. It is about living in a particular context that influences your future adult life. Everything is about context and about childhood memories. The last 30 minutes are absolutely terrible (they ruined the good second impression I was having), conceptually and cinematographically, but overall It is a good enough and creative adaptation that will keep you with your eyes open for a few hours.

Worth a look.

Rating: 5/10

The Hangover (2009)

directed by Todd Phillips

with: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, and Jeffrey Tambor

The Hangover is a funny movie, which is something that funny movies have been lacking lately, like Funny People, which does have a funny cast, but fails to be funny. The Hangover also has a a very funny cast, Zach Galifianakis (Alan) in particular. This film is unique, it is very well scripted and detailed, and everything flows naturally, with no need to think, but only to imagine oneself in a similar situation. This movie doesn't necessarily have the best one-liners and jokes, but it does have some hilarious situations that seem so unlikely to happen, that it becomes intriguing and almost mysterious, it makes you want to jump in the screen and help them in their quest to recover their lost memories, erased by a drug called roofie (who Alan put in their Jaggermeister shots thinking it was ecstasy), the same that at the end helps them solve their main issue: find the bridegroom and their best friend, Doug.

The Hangover is another Las Vegas comedic road trip adventure of craziness and male-bonding, drunkenness and carelessness, but it is actually funny in most parts, even when the credits are rolling. And Mike Tyson has a tiger in it!

Recommended.

Rating: 7/10